


Unexpected Consequences

by justbygrace



Series: Renegades & Revolutions [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Evil!Torchwood, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, NSFW, Panic Attacks, Telepathy, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-02-10 21:24:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 43,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12920544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: The place : Powell, New Earth.The time: 4th Century PNEC (Post New Earth Colonization).The world is poised on the edge of revolt and in a ravine outside of town, Rose Tyler finds an unconscious Time Lord. Well, anything can happen!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some Notes Before We Start:
> 
> 1\. This is an unholy combination of canon verse, my own alternate universe hallucinations, and the 'Firefly' 'verse so please forgive me for the result.
> 
> 2\. This story is complete and will be posted on a regular schedule (I'm thinking Mondays) -- the door is wide open for a sequel though (of which there has already been considerable thought and discussion).
> 
> 3\. When I first started writing this story I thought of it more as a TV series - thus the "Seasons" bit. This may be helpful for you as a reader as well.
> 
> 4\. I started this story five years ago, gave up, deleted it off the interwebs, let it molder in the back of my brain, annoyed Fleur about it off and on, and finally dusted it off and finished it. 
> 
> 5\. The rating shall go up, WAY up. Prepare yourself in whatever way you need.

It was late afternoon on the southern tip of England, New Earth, and the sun was setting, casting long shadows across the mountains. It was not a hospitable area of the planet and was widely settled only by those hardscrabble folks determined to eke out a living come hell or high water. The town, if such a descriptive word could be used for the motley collection of houses nestled at the bottom of the sheer cliff along the eastern side of the beach, was commonly called Powell.

Very little of the cutting edge technology of Londyn – located just one hundred and sixty kilometers to the north – had touched the villagers here and they liked it that way. The rumors of discontent with the governing of the New Milky Way Galaxy were not things that were discussed out here – they lived and let live and paid their taxes and left discussions of policies and politicians to others. Sometimes one enterprising young person would set off for Londyn, determined to leave the tough lifestyle of Powell behind, but it would never be more than a few years before they returned, happy to be back where the main concerns were how the chickens were laying or whether Jimmy Stones had really burned down the Costellos’ barn.

On this particular day, about sixteen kilometers outside the town, Rose Tyler was ostensibly looking for a missing cow, but was really spending her afternoon exploring. There was a handy cleft of rock from which she could see all the way to Londyn on a clear day. She loved Powell as much as the next person, but there was a certain wanderlust in her blood that she could not tamp down no matter how much she tried. Admittedly, she did not always try very hard to tamp it down – she loved the hum of adrenaline when she thought of going places and doing things that had nothing to do with livestock or small-town gossip.

As Rose picked her way across the side of the mountain, she kept one eye out for the cow (which she had a very good feeling was probably happily grazing in the pasture on the other side of the mountain) and one on the horizon. Her gift was the gift of sight and while she sometimes felt that it was not the most prestigious of gifts (she desperately wished for the gift of words or of knowledge - then she might have gotten into the University instead of being stuck wandering after daft animals), she was thankful for it on times like this when the itch to travel was strong and she just wanted a small glimpse at the spires of Londyn. She had been scaling these mountains since she was old enough to walk and even the spots of shale were not enough to cause her much concern.

She was nearly to her intended destination, when she spotted a dark hump in the ravine down below. Her first thought was that the cow had lost its footing and fallen to its death, but a second look showed it to be a human form, lying at an awkward angle. Choosing each step carefully, Rose altered her course, making her way diagonally down the side of the mountain. Rose had no desire to see a dead body – she had seen quite enough of that when her father had been killed in a fishing accident when she was ten – but she also felt she could not leave whoever it was to the elements. Her sharp eyes had picked out a slight rise and fall to the person's chest and the temperatures out here still dropped drastically when the sun set.

When she was finally on level ground, she picked her way over to the shape cautiously. From here she could tell it was a man, albeit a bleeding and bruised one with probably several broken bones if the way his left arm stuck out was any indication. He wore a battered leather jacket, though it did not appear to have been torn or damaged by whatever had caused his accident. Rose knelt by his head, grimacing at the large amount of blood and reaching out to feel his pulse. He was a stranger, probably in his mid forties by her estimation. His face was not conventionally attractive, his forehead too square, his ears too large, but there was something about it that tugged at Rose's heart. He looked like he had a story to tell and she desperately wanted to hear it.

Shrugging out of her knapsack, Rose pulled out the small medical kit she carried with her. It was meant for livestock emergencies, but it was well supplied with bandages. Pouring a bit of water from her canteen onto a cloth, she dabbed the worst of the blood from his face – from the looks of the cut above his eye it was going to need stitches – and contemplated how to get him back to town. Though the man had faintly groaned when she put pressure on his wounds, she was quite sure he wouldn't wake up any time soon. She deftly wound a strip of cloth around his head, staunching the worst of the bleeding. His lack of consciousness was probably for the best considering the extent of his injuries. He was too big for her to move on her own and she was afraid of rolling him over in case he had some sort of neck or spinal cord injury.

The only person who was anywhere in the vicinity was Mickey. He was out collecting herbs for the town's doctor and should be close enough to reach using her limited communicator. The coms were one of the few exceptions to Powell's strict no technology rule and that was only after the Davis family had almost died in a freak ice storm. The call to Mickey took a few static-filled attempts to get through and explain what was going on, and when she was certain he knew where she was she settled back on her heels to wait.

Rose kept a gentle pressure on the strange man's head wound, musing that whatever had happened couldn't have happened very long ago since the cut was still bleeding. She wondered what could have brought a stranger to Powell; they got the occasional visitor by way of the sea, but very few people attempted the treacherous journey cross country – there were too many wild animals and steep shale cliffs. Rose spared a thought to what her mother would say when she arrived with this man. She had no intention of putting him at the village doctor's; she was already feeling proprietary towards the stranger. She absently traced the contours of his face with her eyes; there was something that spoke of nobility in the lines of his nose and cheekbones. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Mickey's shout and she stood up to hail him.

"Thought I'd never find you." Mickey was out of breath. "How you jump around these cliffs I don't know...oh hullo! You weren't kidding."

Rose rolled her eyes at her friend. "Why would I kid about finding a strange man in the ravine?"

"You wanted to get me out here alone?" Mickey waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She sighed and ignored him. "Focus."

Mickey's grandmother had died when he was a young teenager and he had been raised by whichever townspeople provided him with food and a bed, which had been primarily Rose's mum, Jackie. He was a good lad, but did not show an inclination towards any one gift. Most people's gifts started becoming obvious around the same time as puberty, but Mickey's had yet to show up at twenty. People whispered that he didn't have one; it did happen every once in awhile, but Rose and Jackie were staunch supporters, insisting that his gift would show up eventually. Mickey himself seemed mostly unbothered, going through life happily and helping out wherever he could. He had made a couple of attempts at dating Rose, but she thought of him as her brother and was not interested in anything more.

"You know this would be easier if I could go to town and get the stretcher," Mickey said, examining the stranger thoughtfully.

"We don't have time for that. It'll be dark before long and you'd never find your way back," Rose said, not unkindly.

"Yeah," he agreed good-naturedly. "His neck and spine are fine, no major damage. His right arm is broken and he has some significant damage to his organs along his right side. That foot doesn't look too good either, but I need the Doc's opinion. And he's going to need a lot of stitches. Alright, let's do this."

Mickey rolled the man over and together he and Rose helped him to a sitting position. Looping one arm around each of their shoulders, they half yanked, half guided him to his feet. It was awkward since the man was taller and heavier than either of them, but they got him up eventually.

"We're going to have to take the pass," Rose said breathily. "We can't risk taking him up and over the mountain."

"Mmhmm," Mickey agreed. "And if his ankle isn't broken already, it sure will be by the time we get back."

Rose didn't bother to reply, putting all of her effort into supporting her portion of the weight. It was slow going as they were more carrying him than anything and they had to keep stopping to adjust his weight or go over logs. The quiet was only broken by grunts and quick shouts of "watch out!" or "careful there!" By the time they made it through the pass and reached the pasture on the other side, it was almost completely dark. Rose's sight helped them to navigate the pasture until they came suddenly upon the cows.

"Put him down," Mickey suddenly grunted.

Rose agreeably helped Mickey lower him to the ground and then looked at Mickey curiously, too out of breath to speak.

"We can put him on the cow. It'll be faster." Mickey gestured towards the sleepy-looking bovines. "You and I aren't going to be able to get him back before midnight."

She chuckled, but saw his logic. Picking out the most docile of the bovines, Rose led him back to the man. Actually lifting him onto the animal was an exercise in frustration, but they eventually got him safely on, though Mickey was sporting a bruised eye and Rose a cut lip by the time all was said and done. Mickey concentrated on keeping the man on the cow, which seemed thoroughly surprised by the whole affair, while Rose kept the whole herd moving towards the town. The cow didn't move much faster than they had, but it was a relief to be rid of the weight of him. Mickey and Rose said little, both lost in their own thoughts until they reached the town. There Mickey wanted to go to the doctor's, but Rose insisted on the Tyler residence.

"Mum can nurse him just as well as anyone and I don't want anyone getting the idea he's an outsider," she told Mickey.

He agreed with that; there were few things that the residents of Powell disliked more than the idea of government officials sent to spy on towns, or "outsiders" as they were more commonly called. They met no one in the street; almost everyone was inside eating the evening meal, but Jackie was in the doorway, peering out at them.

"What on earth have you got there?" she called, hurrying down the street towards them. Tony, Rose's nine year old brother, trailed behind her curiously.

"It's a man. He was hurt and in the ravine. That's really all I know," Rose told her, guiding the cow the last few steps to the doorway.

"If you think he's staying here..." Jackie began.

"He is, Mum. He needs help. You know we don't turn creatures away who need help," Rose cut her off. 

She helped Mickey maneuver the man off the cow and into the house. Rose's bed was in the back corner and she and Mickey led the man to it, lowering him onto it somewhat awkwardly.

"This is not a stray dog, Rose, this is a stray person," Jackie exclaimed, but even as she spoke she was already stoking up the fire and putting the kettle back on the stove.

"I know that, but he still needs our help. Look at him!" Rose knew her mum's bark was worse than her bite and she would not actually throw him back in the street.

"This one's on you then," Jackie said wearily. "Mickey, stop standing around and go fetch the doctor. Tony, I've got herbs in the side garden plot that will do wonders for the pain. The ones with the pointed blue flowers. And Rose, eat a little something, will you? You're practically wasting away to nothing these days."

Tony and Mickey quickly scampered away to do Jackie's bidding and Rose grabbed a few pieces of bread from the table to munch on while she helped her mum carefully strip the man of his jacket and boots. It was apparent the gash in his side was going to need some major surgery and that the ride had done him no favors; he had bled past Rose's makeshift bandages. Jackie had medical experience born of a lifetime of using her gift of helping - knowing how and when to help others.

When the doctor, a gruff middle aged man named Gabriel Sneed, finally arrived, he tutted impatiently and went to work briskly and efficiently, ordering them to fetch him things and then stay out of his way. Gabriel was a good doctor, though he was far from Rose's favorite person, and he worked swiftly, washing the man's wounds, stitching them up, and applying fresh bandages. By the time he was done, Tony had fallen asleep in the corner and the fire had burnt low. Gabriel and Mickey dressed the man in some of Rose's father's clothes, as his own were in shreds – all except the leather jacket. That item Rose held onto, determined to keep it safe until such a time as she could return it to its owner.

Gabriel left with strict instructions for changing bandages and making sure he drank water, telling them he would be by in the morning to check on the patient. When he and Mickey were gone, Rose sank down at the table in a daze. Jackie was puttering about the large room, adjusting the fire and putting away the cold dinner items.

"You think he'll be okay, Mum?" Rose asked with an anxious look at the lump under the bedcovers. "He should have woken up."

"Gabriel gave him good medicine. That sleep is a healing one, if I've ever seen one," Jackie reassured her. "He'll be awake in the morning and I'll want his whole story first thing. A man like that doesn't just fall out of the sky."

"Maybe. I'm curious too." Rose let out an enormous yawn and chuckled. "I'm off to bed then."

"Carry Tony up to the attic and take his cot. He'll be alright in the straw for one night," Jackie said from where she was banking the fire with ash.

"Night." Rose stood up wearily to carry her brother up the stairs.

By the time she was curled up on Tony's slightly too small cot, she could hardly keep her eyes open. Her last conscious thought was that she really wanted to know the stranger's story, but more importantly, she wanted to know his name. She couldn't help the feeling that he was somehow important.


	2. Chapter 2

When Rose awoke it was still dark and she could not figure out what had startled her. She lay in bed staring at the ceiling for a couple of seconds until the noise sounded again - the groan of a man in great pain - and the events of the previous day came rushing back. Swiftly pushing the covers off, she stood up and made her way to the corner bed. The man was awake and thrashing about, letting out a low groan of pain every few minutes. Rose grabbed a rag and wet it in the water bucket, pressing the damp cloth to his forehead and murmuring soothing nonsense. He settled somewhat, but still seemed agitated, and Rose picked up his hand out of instinct, clasping it to her side as she sponged his face. He gripped her hand and his features slowly relaxed. 

"So all you wanted was a hand to hold?" Rose asked, laughing a little. "I can do that." 

Between the embers in the fire and the sliver of moonlight peeking in the windows, Rose guessed it to be somewhere around three am. By reaching, Rose could just grab the edge of her mum's rocking chair and she dragged it over, sinking into it and continuing her ministrations. She did her best to keep up a running stream of chatter, ranging in topic from the village gossip to her dreams for the future. The man's grip on her hand never slackened and she wondered if he had the gift of touch, needing the contact to heal him.

The clatter of pans next awoke her and she blinked, disoriented for a few moments before realizing she had fallen asleep with her head resting on the man's chest, their hands still firmly linked. Rose blushed furiously, chancing a glance in her mum's direction, but Jackie just laughed and shook her head. Disentangling her hand from his, Rose pushed herself to her feet and walked over to grab her clothes for the day, her back screaming at her from the awkward position she had slept in. When she was dressed and back in the main room, Tony had arrived from doing his morning chores and was shoveling oatmeal into his mouth at a great rate. 

"Have a good sleep?" Jackie asked without glancing up from the stove.

Rose rolled her eyes and joined her brother at the table. "Didn't you hear him last night? He woke up in pain about three."

"Your dad made that partition thick on purpose," Jackie replied. "I don't think I'd hear a tornado come through."

"Who is he?" Tony asked with his mouth full.

"Chew your food. And I don't know. I just found him in the ravine yesterday," Rose answered.

Jackie came over to the table and sank into a seat. "We'd all like to know who he is. I hope he wakes soon."

"Well he's not sleeping here forever. It's cold in the attic," Tony declared.

"He'll stay here as long as he needs a place to stay," Jackie said mildly. "Finish your food – you've got class this morning. And no cutting either, mister. If I have to walk you to school and stay with you I will."

Tony sighed deeply and scraped the last bite of oatmeal into his mouth. Grabbing three sausages from the table, he shoved them in his pocket and headed for the door, calling back over his shoulder, "He can sleep in the straw then. And I'll sleep in the bed."

"Tony Tyler!" Jackie called after him, but the only response was the door swinging shut and a muffled, "Bye!" 

"That boy's going to be the death of me," she sighed. "He needs a father."

Rose gave her mum a small smile in response, focusing on her breakfast in silence for a few minutes. The pain of Pete Tyler's death at sea sometimes seemed as fresh as if it had happened yesterday, instead of nine years prior. Tony had been born a scant two weeks after his father's accident and was an energetic, mischievous boy with a talent for driving his mother and sister crazy. Jackie did the best she could, but his antics sometimes defied her energies. 

When Rose and Jackie finished eating and had started to clear the table, Rose spoke again. "I thought you didn't want that man here. Why the change of heart?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Jackie said expansively.

Rose was about to push her mother for an explanation, but Mickey and Doctor Sneed chose that moment to knock on the door. When Rose told the doctor about the man's pained thrashing during the night and how the touch of her hand had seemed to calm him, he hummed thoughtfully and went to work changing bandages and checking his skin for fever. 

Rose helped Jackie clean up from the morning meal and begin the daily chores, keeping half an eye on the doctor's work. Mickey caught her looking several times and gave her a quizzical tilt of his head, but Rose pretended not to see. She couldn't explain why the man on the bed had caught and held her attention, but he had and did and she wasn't ready to discuss it with anyone.

When Doctor Sneed had finished, he began to give Jackie instructions on how to change the bandages but she cut him off. "That man is no concern of mine. He's Rose's stray and she'll be the one tending to him."

Rose raised an eyebrow at Jackie, but attentively listened to Doctor's Sneed's reminders. 

Once he and Mickey had left the cabin, Rose rounded on her mum. "What was that about? One moment you want him here, the next you sound like you're about to chuck him out into the woods!"

Jackie returned the broom to the corner of her room and reached to undo her apron. "I don't mind him staying here, but he isn't my stray. Besides, it'll do you good to find something to occupy yourself with so you quit wandering around with your nose in the clouds. Now, I've got to run some errands and maybe see if I can help out Lana Harrison. I don't know when I'll be back. You stay here and keep an eye on that one. If he wakes, I want the whole story."

Rose shook her head at her mum's rapid change in attitude, but obediently drew the rocking chair to the side of the bed and sat down. It wasn't until the door closed behind Jackie that she picked up his hand, smiling slightly when he tightened his grip.

"Who are you?" Rose wondered aloud. "I wish you'd wake up to tell me."

Eventually, she got her mending basket and began working to let out the hems of Tony's trousers, stopping from time to time to squeeze the man's hand reassuringly. She was so lost in thought that when he moved to sit up suddenly, she dropped the entire basket and poked her thumb on the needle.

"Who are you? And where am I? What happened?" His voice was deep and scratchy as if he'd been yelling for his life.

"Whoa, whoa, it's okay." Rose hurriedly stood up and moved into his field of vision. "I'm Rose Tyler and you’re in my house."

"What am I here for? What do you want?" He turned his face towards her and she was nearly bowled over by his piercing blue eyes, branding him as an offworlder.

"You were injured. I found you in the ravine and brought you here." Rose bit her lip as she remembered the journey by cow.

"Why?" he demanded.

"You were injured," Rose repeated a little louder.

"I'm not deaf. I can hear you just fine." He rolled his eyes. "Why'd you bring me here for? You a doctor?"

"No," Rose said, a bit taken aback by his abrupt manner.

He stared at her and she dropped her gaze to the floor, suddenly second guessing her decision to keep him at the house. This was the sort of thing Doctor Sneed should be dealing with. Why had she brought him here? He could be anyone, and judging by his irritated tone, he wasn't a particularly nice person. For a long moment there was silence. Rose could feel the weight of his gaze on her and she busied herself by picking up the scattered sewing supplies, thankful for something to keep herself occupied.

"What's your name?" he asked suddenly and she jumped.

"Um, Rose, Rose Tyler."

"Nice to meet you, Rose Tyler," he said, rolling the syllables of her name around in his mouth like a particularly good treat. "I'm Theta."

She glanced up at that, meeting his eyes for a split second. "Theta."

"Why did you bring me here?" he asked again, this time in a much quieter tone though with an edge of roughness, like perhaps he hadn't had a chance to use his voice much in the recent past.

"Because you were injured." She raised a hand when he tried to protest. "That's the honest truth. You were injured in the ravine. My friend Mickey and I brought you here. It was closer to bring you here and you were badly hurt. Are badly hurt."

"Yes, I can tell that," he said shortly.

"Seven stitches on your temple. Thirty-four to your side – almost punctured your lung there, very dangerous. Severe fractures to the right ulna and radius, almost spiral in some areas. A clean break to three of your right phalanges. Two breaks each to your right tibia and femur bones and an almost crushed tarsal." She folded her arms and leaned back, giving him a satisfied smirk.

He stared at her open-mouthed for a second and then shook his head. "Was that supposed to sound impressive?"

"Little bit, yeah." She shrugged one shoulder.

"Didn't really work."

The corners of his mouth were turned up ever so slightly and she mentally congratulated herself. Now for the hard part. "Do you remember how you got hurt? How you came to Powell?" 

He looked away and she watched as he clenched his left hand. When he looked back, his face was hard and expressionless. 

"There was a war. I survived, but barely. No one else did. I decided to move on. Here I am."

"I'm sorry," Rose said sincerely, reaching out automatically for his hand. He seemed surprised but grateful and clasped her hand for a moment.

"I'm a dangerous man, Rose Tyler. I have incredible amounts of knowledge and I am more powerful than you can comprehend. I have brought down empires with a single word. You shouldn't feel safe with me in your house." Theta met her gaze full on and she could see the weight of his words behind them, but she was finding it increasingly hard to feel afraid.

With a slight smile, she spoke, "Was that supposed to sound impressive?"

His expression quickly morphed into one of shock and then he gave a rusty sounding chuckle. "Little bit, yeah." 

"Didn't really work." She stood up and stretched. "Want some tea?"

"Um." He stared at her. "I just told you I was dangerous and you ask if I want tea?"

"Yeah." She jerked her head towards the stove. "I want some tea. Do you?"

"Yeah, I want tea." 

She nodded slightly and went to turn the kettle towards the fire and set out mugs. 

"Were you awake with me last night?" he called to her and she turned away slightly so he couldn't see her blush.

"You seemed in pain," she replied, keeping her back to him.

"I was. You helped," he said.

"I'm glad." She measured the tea into the strainers and stared out the window while she waited for the water to boil. 

The sun was edging towards the midpoint of the sky and the streets outside were brightly lit. Powell wasn't much to look at, but she loved the simplicity of it. Nevertheless, she couldn't help the feeling that was growing in her belly that here in her house was the beginning of the end of it. The sound of the kettle roused her from her thoughts and she turned to fill the mugs. Carrying them carefully back to the bed, she handed one over to him and reseated herself in the rocking chair.

"You live here with your mum?" Theta asked after a moment.

"My mum and my little brother, Tony," Rose said. "Also, my mum…fair warning – she'll probably interrogate you."

"Don't stand for interrogations, me. Not cut out for it," he said, his expression going mutinous.

"Figured as much." Rose sipped her tea and tried not to think about her mum meeting Theta for real.

"Tell me about you? And this town?" he asked in a gentler tone.

Rose started out slowly, but he seemed interested after a fashion, asking her occasional questions and fixing her with his attention. She was soon relaxed and telling him all about their tiny town and the people who lived in it. Their conversation ebbed and flowed as the day progressed. At one point Rose managed to convince Theta to consume some bread and cheese, overruling his protests of not being hungry by insisting that not eating for however many hours straight was not doing his body any favors. Theta drifted back to sleep about halfway through the afternoon and dozed for about an hour before waking up and picking up the thread of conversation again, albeit a bit grumpily that Rose had allowed him the luxury of sleep.

This was how Jackie found them when she arrived.

"Ahh. He lives," Jackie said as she walked in and set her basket on the table. "And is himself talking yet?"

"Mum..." Rose began.

"Don't you mum me," Jackie said. "I want to know who the stranger in my house is."

"My name's Theta and I'm just a traveler," the man in question replied.

Rose busied herself with her sewing things, briefly wondering why he had mentioned a war to her and not to her mum. It raised a tiny suspicion of doubt in her mind, but after a glance in Jackie's direction where she was hustling around the house, clattering and clanking, Rose had to admit that not mentioning a war right now was probably a good idea.

"And are you going to be staying then?" Jackie paused mid-step to regard Theta.

"Nowhere else to go," he said simply.

Jackie sent Rose a keen look and nodded. "Alright then." 

Rose glanced between her mum and Theta and then shook her head and stood up. She could not stand being cooped up a moment longer and her mum's behavior was driving her spare. "I'm going to fetch Doctor Sneed and tell him the patient is awake. I'll be back in a bit. Don't burn the house down."

She exited the cabin to the sounds of their scandalized protests of innocence ringing in her ears and sighed, wondering what on earth she had gotten herself into.


	3. Chapter 3

The familiar combination of salty ocean air and piney woods filled Rose's nostrils as she stepped outside. It was a relief to be out of the closed cabin – she did so hate to be cooped up, even with such interesting company as Theta. The sun was sinking towards the horizon and most of the townspeople were heading to their homes from their work at the docks. Most of Powell's profits came from the fishing trade with other small coastal towns since not much of a crop could be forced from the rocky soil. Rose found the smell of fish sometimes as nauseating as she did homelike, wishing to escape nearly as much as she loved these people.

As she walked down the street – if you could call the lone dirt path that connected all of the cabins in Powell a street – she noticed that there was a crowd forming near the center of town at the well. That in itself was not unusual - it was near to dinnertime after all and generally the crowd was of young children sent to fetch water for the meal. As Rose drew closer, she could see that this crowd was mostly composed of adults and they did not seem happy. The person everyone seemed to be listening to was James Stones, a man known for his ability on the sea as well as on land and the father of more than one of the skinny children running around. She skirted the edges, not interested in hearing another debate on Jimmy Stones Junior's latest misdeeds – she'd had a thing for Powell's resident bad boy once upon a time, and though he'd turned out to be an insufferable arse she wasn't interested in hearing a general defaming of his character. She was almost through the crowd when she heard the word outsider and she stopped in her tracks.

"...saw it with me own eyes, I did," James Stones was saying. "Town burned to the ground and only a few people left alive. And all because of the outsiders."

Spotting Gwyneth Cooper, Rose maneuvered over to her. "What's he on about?" she asked in a low tone in her friend's ear.

"Oh, Rose!" Gwyneth exclaimed, a bit too loudly for Rose's taste. "He says Salisbury was burnt to the ground when he stopped to trade yesterday."

"Because of outsiders!" Jabe Cheem added from Rose's other side.

"How does he know that?" Rose asked carefully.

"Saw their sign!" James had apparently overheard their conversation. "Pounded into the ground and decorated with skulls and piles of burning corpses."

"Could have been pirates," Moxx Balhoon argued.

"It was signed, wasn't it!" James exclaimed, shooting Moxx an irritated look. "Signed by Torchwood itself."

There was a stunned silence in the crowd for a moment following these words. Torchwood was the agency in charge of carrying out the New Milky Way Galaxy's ruling faction's will. They were well-known for being swift and brutal in their version of justice, though their talons had rarely reached out quite this far before. The rumors of war that had been carried into town by travelers suddenly seemed a lot more real.

"Did it say what they'd done?" Lute Cheem, Jabe's husband, called out.

"He can't read; how would he know?" Moxx scoffed.

"I was there!" Old Man Clive spoke up, apparently eager to avoid a fight between Moxx and James. The crowd immediately moved its attention to him. Despite the fact that he was regarded as a bit of a "nutter," he was a hard worker and the only one who could handle going on trips with James Stones, a fact that made him appreciated in and of itself. 

"Well, what'd it say then?" Coffa Cheem, Lute's brother, demanded.

"Suspicion of treason against the government," Clive said. "And if they can come there, they can come here. If Torchwood is making house calls, it means we are all in danger. Torchwood has but one constant companion," The crowd held its collective breath. "Death."

"We've got to stick together or it could happen here too." This came from Lute and there was a murmur of agreement.

"No outsiders here; we won't let 'em!" Blon Slitheen shouted and it was picked up by a dozen voices.

Rose took an involuntary step backwards. She had been so caught up in the drama she had forgotten that she had an outsider lying in her bed. She took another step backwards, intent on slipping out of the crowd and heading home to warn her mum, but her movement was a mistake. 

"Rose Tyler!" It was James and she froze. "Rose Tyler, don't you got one of them outsiders at home right now?"

The attention of the entire crowd was suddenly on her and Rose struggled for something to say. 

"Oh yeah, I heard that too." Blon materialized out of seemingly nowhere in front of Rose and glared at her. Rose had never much liked the interfering woman with her beady eyes and greasy smile, but she had never before been afraid of her.

"He's not really an outsider," Rose began.

"If he isn't from this town, he's an outsider," Coffa said decisively.

"You need to turn him out." 

"We'll show him how outsiders are dealt with here!"

"You don't get away with that sort of thing in Powell!"

The crowd was reaching a fevered pitch and Rose knew she had to stop it. Rallying her courage, she jumped onto the steps to the well so she could see over the heads of the people. 

"He's injured! I've never denied help to someone who was injured and I don't plan to start now! You've known my family for years. Would we ever do anything to cause harm to this town or its people? We've done nothing but help you!" 

She sent Coffa a pointed glare and he glanced away. It hadn't even been three months since Coffa had gotten a bad infection from a fish hook and his left arm had nearly had to be amputated. It was only through Rose and Jackie's nursing that he had not only been able to keep the arm, but now had full use of it again. Rose forced herself to make eye contact with quite a few people in the crowd who had received help from the Tylers over the years and none of them were quite able to meet her gaze.

"You all are hungry. Go home and eat. I, for one, will not deny help to someone who is hurt just because of some ghost story." She sent one more glare to the crowd and waited until they began to disperse before climbing to the ground shakily. 

Gwyneth was there and she wrapped an arm around Rose's shoulders for support. The two made their way through the crowd, heading in the direction of the Tylers' cabin. They were both silent, afraid to say anything that would incite the rage of the people around them. When they finally reached the doorstep, Rose quietly asked Gwyneth to fetch Doctor Sneed and, with a hug, Gwyneth left.

Rose opened the door and stepped through as silently as she could, unsure of what to say to either her mum or Theta. She particularly didn't know how to tell Theta that everyone thought he was an outsider and wanted to kill him. A voice in the back of her head whispered that she didn't actually know for sure that he wasn't, but she ignored it, not wanting to give in to the rabble of the crowd. 

"Rose? Everything alright? Where's the doctor?" Jackie asked and Rose knew she had hesitated too long.

"Everything's fine!" Rose forced herself to sound cheerful as she hung up her coat and went to wash her hands.

"Where's the doctor then?" Jackie demanded.

"Oh, he's coming!" Rose said airily, ignoring the searching look Theta was giving her from his spot on the bed. "Need any help with food?"

Before Jackie could form a reply, the door banged open and Tony came tumbling through shouting, "Mum, Rose, guess what? Everyone says that man is from Torchwood here to kill everybody and burn the town to the ground!"

Rose groaned and sank into a chair.

Tony barreled on, "Yeah! Crazy Clive says he is bringing death and Moxx said he's going to steal the women for his harem. What's a harem? I think he's a ghost, but Timmy says that's stupid. I'm not stupid..." he trailed off as he realized that Theta was staring at him with a slightly shocked look on his face. 

"He's awake!" Tony stage whispered. "Are you going to steal women for a harem and murder the men?"

"He certainly isn't," Jackie said sharply. "Tony, stop filling your ears with the gossips and sit down and eat your lunch. Rose, a word?" She raised an eyebrow at Rose and gestured towards the partitioned room.

Rose followed her mother with a heartfelt sigh; she had no desire to have this conversation. As she passed Theta on her way to the other room, she sent him a shy glance and blushed when she saw the way he was scrutinizing her. She wondered briefly what about the man meant her cheeks were nearly always stained red around him before her mum slammed the door behind them and whirled on her.

"What on earth is happening out there?"

Rose rubbed her eyes. "It's exactly what Tony said. James Stones said Salisbury was burned to the ground with a message from Torchwood, something about treason in the town. One thing led to another and next thing, everyone is blaming outsiders and saying we've got one. Things almost got ugly, but I think I calmed them down."

"You think?" Jackie asked.

"For now. Mum, you know how they are. Prone to ghost stories even on the best of days and this is the third devastated town in a month." 

"He is an outsider..." 

"Not you too!" Rose exclaimed

"I didn't say he was the one destroying towns, but he does have an awful lot of injuries and no good reason for them. It's shady, that's all I'm saying," Jackie sniffed.

"You sound as bad as they did, coming up with theories. They're nutters. I'm sure he'll have a good reason in his own time."

"We just need to be careful..." Jackie was cut off by the sound of the front door slamming open.

The two women hurried into the main room in time to see Mickey standing there, breathing hard. 

"What on earth?" Jackie demanded.

"Doctor wouldn't come, scared of the outsider," Mickey said, shooting Theta terrified glances.

"Oi! Name's Theta," the man in question said with an annoyed look at Mickey.

"So he really is awake? Thought Gwyneth was making it all up!" Mickey exclaimed. "Do you think he is an alien? Everyone's saying so. Well, everyone who isn't saying he's from Torchwood."

"Mickey Smith, you listen to too much gossip." Jackie brushed past him and started dishing up soup. 

"So, Rickey, you going to investigate the alien or are you going to just stand there shaking like a puppy?" Theta taunted him.

Rose glanced between Mickey and Theta worriedly as Mickey cautiously made his way towards the bed. Theta had a few good centimeters and quite a few stone on Mickey and though she didn't think it would come to a physical brawl, she didn't like the predatory gleam in Theta's eyes or the irritated look in Mickey's.

"Name's Mickey," Mickey said, coming to a halt at the foot of the bed and looking Theta up and down. "Just need to change your bandages."

"If you say so, Rickey." Theta put some not-so-subtle emphasis on the word and Rose winced slightly.

Mickey grimaced, but ignored him, stepping around the bed and putting out his hand tentatively towards Theta's forehead. He pulled back the bandage and gave a startled gasp. "It's...he's...oh my god." He backed away from the bed, still clutching the bloody bandage.

"What's wrong?" Rose took a half-step towards the bed.

"He's...he's...it's true! He's an alien!" Mickey tripped over a chair and toppled over backwards, still incoherently babbling.

Rose approached Theta, ignoring the collective gasps from Jackie and Tony. Theta's gaze had gone from a smirk at the fallen Mickey to concern as he met Rose's eyes. She stopped by his side and looked down at his temple, unable to help her audible gasp as she saw what had startled Mickey. Where the gash on Theta's head had been the night before, there was smooth skin though still with flecks of dried blood from the bandage. 

"Is it true? You're an alien?" she asked quietly, aware of the approaching footsteps of her mum and brother.

"Yeah. That okay?" Theta asked just as quietly. He sounded nervous and she could see the wrinkles on his forehead that corresponded with his tone.

"Yeah," Rose had just time to say before she was interrupted by Jackie's exclamations.

When the fuss had quieted down enough for Theta to get a word in edgewise, he explained that he had superior biology. Flesh wounds took less than twenty-four hours to heal while broken bones took only a bit longer. He should be back on his feet by early the next morning.

"Well, this isn't going to go over well in town," Jackie said matter-of-factly. "Would you like some soup?" She extended a bowl towards Theta and the other occupants of the room stared at her in shock for several moments before dissolving in laughter.


	4. Chapter 4

For the second morning in a row, Rose woke with no idea what had roused her. She slowly sat up, her gift allowing her eyes to quickly adjust to the darkness. Dreams of the townspeople led by James Stones and armed with pitchforks had made her sleep disturbed at best and she half imagined she could hear people thumping at the window even now. Glancing around the cabin, she realized the thumping noise was coming from the corner bed where Theta was sitting up and putting his boots on. She was instantly on guard, wild thoughts of him running away to warn Torchwood racing through her mind. Even if he was completely innocent – which him escaping in the middle of the night did not quite imply – people would be on high alert and some would probably be waiting for him. 

Forcing herself to stay calm, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Putting my boots on. Didn't mean to wake you," he responded shortly. "Go back to sleep."

"God, you're a grouch in the morning." She wrapped her arms around her knees. This was not looking promising. "You going somewhere?"

"Something say I can't?" Theta stood up and grabbed for his jacket, searching through the pockets.

"Seems only polite to say goodbye, at least," Rose said, slouching further over her knees and studying her toes. She really did know how to find winners, didn't she.

"Not really known for being polite." He looked up from his rummaging and glared at her. "Did you go through my pockets?" 

"No, I am generally known for being polite." She rolled her eyes, not caring if he noticed or not.

He ignored her lame attempt at humor. "I'm missing stuff and someone took it."

"Well, I didn't bloody touch your precious jacket. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to sleep." She flopped back on the bed and glared at the ceiling, blinking back furious tears she didn't understand. She wasn't given to tears and there was no real reason that his anger should affect her. If he wanted to go out there and get himself killed, it wasn't her responsibility.

"Rose." His voice was quieter. And much closer to the bed.

She turned her head to look at him. "What?"

"I didn't mean it was you. I don't think you did." He paused and looked embarrassed, an expression that was obviously foreign to him. "I have stuff in there. Important stuff."

"Stuff? That a technical term?" she teased, trying to lighten the somber mood.

"Yeah, I'm good at stuff. You?"

"Nah, I failed at things." She sat up and swung her feet off the bed. "I'm serious, Theta, I didn't go through your stuff and mum wouldn't have either. Tony's too scared of you to touch anything and Mickey is too." She chuckled as she remembered the way Mickey had done his best to stay of out Theta's way throughout the previous evening. Tony had seemed equal parts terrified and enthralled, hanging on Theta’s every word but refusing to speak to him directly. 

"It might have fallen out of my pocket when I fell. Where was that?" Theta asked, raising one eyebrow.

"It was out a ways. A bit dangerous to get to. Why do you need the stuff?" Rose wanted to know.

"The sooner I can find it, the sooner I'll be out of here." He shrugged into his jacket and turned for the door. 

Rose's heart sank at the words, but she forced herself to go after him. "You don't know where you fell. You'll get hurt."

"Superior biology, me. I'll be fine." He dodged her outstretched fingers.

"Why don't I go? Tell me what you're looking for and I can find it," Rose pleaded, darting around him to block his path.

He rocked back on his heels to avoid plowing her over. "Don't need a babysitter." He paused and his gaze turned dark. "Or a jailer."

Rose jerked backwards as if burned. "You think I'm keeping you here to turn you over to the town? I'm trying to keep you safe!"

He grunted and shook his head. "Safe. Sure you are."

Tears again sprang to her eyes at his harshness and she blinked them back, unwilling to allow him to see her so weak. "I'm not like that. I don't deliberately hurt people – that's what you do."

Theta recoiled from her, but recovered quickly, brushing past. "Yes, I do. That's why I'm leaving."

The door clicked shut behind him before Rose could form any sort of response and she felt her knees give out, dropping into a nearby chair and laying her head on her arms. She could hardly sort out the emotions warring for dominance in her mind...anger, fear, frustration, concern. She wasn't entirely sure what it was about Theta that made her so crazy, only that when she was with him she was torn between wanting to smack him and wanting to hug him and she was never quite sure which desire would win. It had barely been thirty-six hours since she had found Theta and she wondered how he could have so successfully turned her entire life upside down in such a short amount of time.

She heard her mum enter the room a few moments later. Lifting her head up slightly, she watched as Jackie filled the teakettle and set it on the stove, poking at the fire to start a good blaze. There was quiet for a few moments while they waited for the water to boil. When the tea had been measured and the water poured, Jackie set the two steaming mugs on the table and joined Rose.

"You know, they say that tea was known as a cure-all in the original England and that when overcrowding and the plagues started, they brought it with them on the ships, sure they would need it to survive. It is one of the only things that has survived through the centuries," Jackie said conversationally. It was a story Rose had heard many times over the years and it brought fresh tears to her eyes. "Rose, love, it'll be okay."

"He's gonna get himself killed. And there's nothing I can do to stop it," Rose whispered. "And I kind of hate him for it, but I also don't hate him. And I don't know, I don't know what to do."

To her surprise, Jackie chuckled. "That's the way it is with these things," she said.

"With what things?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"When I met your dad, I knew someday the sea would take him from me. But it was in his blood and every time he would get in that stupid boat I would be so angry I almost couldn't see straight, but I still loved him just the same." Jackie took a sip of tea, staring into the distance as if she was watching Pete Tyler boarding his rickety old boat in her mind's eye.

"It's not the same thing." Rose stared at her in confusion.

"Isn't it?" Jackie asked cryptically.

"Mum, you're not making any sense." Rose rubbed a hand down her face. The last thirty-six hours had been filled with a myriad of emotions and she had not gotten enough sleep to deal with it all.

"It rarely does." Jackie stood up and stretched. "I've got breakfast to make and you should be getting dressed. I have a feeling it'll be a long day."

Rose pushed back her chair and stood also, not even attempting to parse out Jackie's enigmatic words. She was halfway across the room when Jackie spoke again.

"Rose?"

"Yeah?" She swung around and looked back. There was a concern to Jackie's expression that wiped the remaining sleepiness from Rose's system. "Mum? What is it?"

"Whatever happens, remember I love you," Jackie said and Rose hurried over to her, wrapping her arms around her and squeezing.

"I love you too," Rose whispered into Jackie's shoulder.

"I know. Now go." Jackie loosened Rose's grip and swatted her shoulder.

Chuckling, Rose went to get dressed. She was just lacing up her shoes when she heard a pounding on the front door. Edging to the door of the partition, Rose peered around it to see Jackie frantically waving her backwards. Rose swiftly shut the door and leaned against it, listening hard. She could hear angry shouting and was hit by a sudden flashback of her dreams.

"Open up! We want the outsider! Give him to us and no one has to get hurt." It was Blon Slitheen and she sounded drunk.

"Just a minute, just a minute. Waking up decent folks at this hour, for shame!" Rose could hear Jackie bustling about. "I'm guessing there are strays to worry about. Hope people are getting on that."

Theta! Rose's thoughts quickly went to the man wandering around the unfamiliar territory, sparing a vague hint of amusement at Jackie's cryptic command. As soon as they realized that he wasn't here, the townspeople would be sending out a search party. She needed to get out there and cut him off before they could get that far. She knew the terrain better than anyone else and knew that her sight would help her easily spot Theta.

She darted towards the small window above her mum's bed and quickly hoisted herself up. There was a pane of glass in it and she desperately hoped that the sound of shattering wouldn't be cause for alarm. She paused before she smashed it and then laughed to herself – Jackie was clattering pans as if she was getting paid to do it. Using her elbow, Rose hit the glass dead center and watched it shatter. Maneuvering her way through the small window was harder than she had anticipated, but a few desperate wrigglings and some ignoring of the glass slivers working their way into her palms and Rose dropped to the ground below.

She could hear the sound of the crowd growing louder from the front of the house, but thankfully they seemed too drunk and disorganized to think about things like guarding all the exits. Aiming towards where she knew the tallest pines grew, Rose took off running. She hadn't spent her entire life exploring these woods for nothing and she was soon scanning the trees for her favorite, a particularly tall specimen with close set branches, perfect for climbing. Hardly stopping to catch her breath, Rose began to scale the tree, easily hopping from limb to limb, avoiding the thinner ones and heading for where the branches thinned out enough for her to get a clear look across the area.

Rose scanned the rocky terrain and her keen eyes quickly picked out Theta's lone figure making its way across the rocks, going in quite the wrong direction, of course. Shaking her head, she memorized his location and estimated where he was likely to be by the time she reached him. Shifting her position, she looked back towards the cabin and was startled to see that quite a crowd had grown around it. By the looks of it, nearly the entire population of Powell had turned out to see the spectacle. Jackie was standing in the middle and Rose felt a momentary pang of fear. She had no doubt that Jackie could hold her own, but this was a rough crowd intent on doing harm. Chewing her lip, she considered going back to help, but she knew that wasn't what Jackie would want. With a last glance towards Theta, Rose climbed down the tree and started in his direction, hoping and praying that Jackie would be able to hold them off at least a little while longer.


	5. Chapter 5

Rose maintained a steady pace towards Theta, working to rein in her tumultuous thoughts; she had no idea what she was going to say to him and she did not like having to leave her mum to face the crowd alone, but worrying about either one was not going to help her concentration or bring her closer to a resolution. She would see Theta soon enough and until she did that, she could not go back and deal with the angry crowd. Theta had not seemed overly eager for her protection or advice an hour ago and he was unlikely to want it now, but she had little choice but to try since her mother was obviously not interested in her assistance either. 

Pushing herself even harder, Rose tried to concentrate only on where her next footstep would land, how to avoid tumbling down the edge of the mountain and into the ravine below. Her keen sight helped her pick out the tiny pitfalls blocking her path as she hopped small logs, ducked under overhanging branches, and deftly jumped the streams. Her senses narrowed to only the steady thump of her heart and the way nature seemed to stretch out before her, giving way before her feet, and smoothing out the path. It was times like this, times when she was just running, running, running, when Rose felt the most alive, the most a part of things and the least restless.

At length, she reached the top of another hill and spotted Theta laboriously making his way up the far side. She saw him pause mid-step, tilt his head back, and listen before continuing on, picking up his pace only slightly. She rolled her eyes at his blatant ignorance, wondering how he was planning to defend himself against marauders if that was his response to an approaching figure. It didn't take her long to reach his side – she had been running this mountain since she was old enough to walk and he had no idea where he was going – breathing heavily as she slowed to a walk beside him. 

"What are you doing here, Rose?" Theta asked without turning his head.

"Came to see you," she panted. "Thought you might be getting lost out here."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his nose flare. "You know what one of my gifts is?"

"One of them?" She glanced at him curiously.

"Don't change the subject."

"Smell?" She had a pretty good idea it was hearing, but if he was going to be difficult so was she.

He snorted indelicately. "Hearing. I could hear you coming a kilometer a way and I can hear a lie. You gonna tell me why you're really here?"

"The townspeople are up in arms. They're angry and scared and are probably going to come looking for you soon. My mum's going to hold them off as long as she can, but I don't think even she can dissuade them from sending out a search party," Rose explained.

"Why'd you come?" He paused mid-step to stare at her.

She stopped also, meeting his gaze head on. "You're in danger."

"You're an infuriating person, did anyone ever tell you that?" he asked her, continuing on with an irritated huff.

"Frequently. Same could be said about you."

Theta rolled his eyes. "So, how are you going to save the big bad wolf from disaster?"

"I think in this scenario I'm the big bad wolf and you're the damsel in distress." Rose punched his arm and started moving in a north-easterly direction, gratified when he changed course to follow her.

"I am not a damsel in distress!"

"Maybe not the damsel part," Rose said with an appreciative glance at his biceps under his leather jacket, "But definitely the distress part."

"Whatever. Where are you going?"

"There is a tiny cabin that my dad built for hunting on the far side of the pass. It's got a good view of both the main road and the town. You can see for ages from there. We'll get plenty of warning of any sort of angry lynch mob."

"And what, we're just going to hide out like chickens before a feast?" he asked sarcastically. "Not really my style."

"No, I'd guess not. Your style is all bluster and rude comments." Rose picked up her pace; they had a deadline and a mutinous crowd on their tail.

"Rose." He still sounded annoyed, but it was tinged with amusement and just the hint of apology.

"Theta." 

"Okay, listen, it's been awhile since I've been around others."

"I can tell."

"Oi."

"Oi yourself." 

"Have you always been rude or is this my influence?" Theta asked.

Rose didn't bother to respond, he was just trying to get her side-tracked and she wasn't interested.

"What do you want from me?" He tried to stop moving again, but she was having none of it.

"I want you to keep up so we can get to safety. I want you not to die on my watch. I want to know what you went out searching for. I want to know where you're from. I want to know what happened to make you so..." She waved her hand at his general person.

"So what?"

"Rude and grumpy." She grinned at him and he rolled his eyes.

"That's an awful lot to know about me. More than I've told anyone for awhile," he said.

"Well, you don't need to tell it all right now, but you did ask." She picked up her pace towards their destination. "Come on you. We've still got a good twenty minutes of solid climbing and you look a bit out of shape to me."

"Out of shape?" he scoffed, charging up the slope. "I'll show you out of shape."

"Watch it. You're heading in the wrong direction," she called after him. "Why don't you follow the expert."

She could hear him mumbling insults under his breath, but she ignored him and they were soon both concentrating on making their way safely. The mountain that led to Pete Tyler's cabin was known for being nearly impassable, with a sheer face interspersed with patches of shale and twisted roots. Rose led the way, following a path only she could see that wound its way upwards, avoiding the worst of nature's pitfalls. She knew this would probably be the first place that the searchers looked, but there were only a few others in the village that could decipher a way up this mountain. 

By the time they reached the summit, a grassy area with a grove of trees that protected the tiny cabin from the worst of the strong winds that blew through here, they were both severely out of breath. Rose hardly waited to gain flat ground before she whirled around, her keen eyes searching the valleys below for a glimpse of movement. Far to the south she spotted them: a small group of people had broken off from the larger crowd still around the Tyler's cabin and had started into the woods.

"They're coming. Probably be here by noon." Rose turned back towards Theta. 

He had collapsed on the ground, flat on his back, and was taking in deep heaves of air.

"Thought you had superior biology or whatever," she teased, walking over to him and nudging him with her foot.

"I've been traveling by vortex manipulator for awhile. Been awhile since I was forced to run for my life," he muttered, rolling away from her offending toes.

She laughed and skirted his prone form. "I'm going to air out the cabin and check on supplies. Join me when you can, old man."

His only response was a low groan and she rolled her eyes, heading to the cabin and unbarring the door. Tugging out the leather latch, she pushed the door and stepped inside, closing her eyes against the rush of memories. It had been years since she had been up here for any length of time, but she used to accompany her father nearly every summer. She had spent so many lovely fall days here, listening to the stories Pete told about his boyhood in Londyn and playing games of checkers and tic-tac-toe. It was here that Pete had taught her to rely on more than just her sight to know where she was, to tune in to the sound of an advancing wild animal, to catch the scent of a nearby brook, to feel the approach of rain on the wind. 

"Always rely on yourself," he would tell her, "Because someday that might be all you've got."

She would hang on his every word, practicing the exercises he gave her for hours until she could run through the woods as lightly as a squirrel, track a wild boar, or completely camouflage herself in leaves and mud. Pete's gift had been knowledge of timelines, the ability to read where someone was likely to go if things progressed as they were, and she wondered what he had known about her life that caused him to drill her so relentlessly. So far her life had been very mundane with none of the dangers lurking around every corner that he had warned her about. Her thoughts went to the strange man outside and she had a feeling that Pete Tyler's predictions were beginning to come true.


	6. Chapter 6

Rose's thoughts were interrupted by Theta coming through the door behind her.

"Bit small in here, eh?" 

"Big enough for two." Rose rolled her eyes and moved to the cupboards. They had always made sure the cabin was well-stocked in case of an emergency, and the storage bins were air locked and practically indestructible by the elements. 

There were containers of beans, corn, sugar, rice, and flour and tins of fresher foods, fruit and vegetables, shipped from Londyn and stored away up here. She checked the barrels of dried fruit, happy to see that it seemed in good condition, if a bit chewy. They could easily survive for weeks if it came to that.

"You guys planning for the apocalypse?" Theta asked, peering over her shoulder at the supplies.

"Something like that." Rose picked up the bucket from the floor. "I'm heading out to get water."

"You going to cook for us? All domestic-like?" 

Rose refrained from slapping him, contenting herself with merely gritting her teeth and stalking towards the door. She had too much on her mind to deal with his stupid comments right then. Shutting the door behind her a bit more forcefully than was perhaps absolutely necessary, Rose headed across the grassy knoll to where a stream formed along the northern side of the mountain, falling over the edge and gradually picking up pace, turning into a dangerous waterfall far, far below.

Dipping the bucket into the stream, she rinsed off the accumulated dust and then filled it, taking a moment to take a long drink of the clear liquid. There was nothing like frigid mountain water for putting the heart back into one and when she stood up she felt ready to take on anything, even Theta. Rolling her shoulders to relieve the tension from her interactions with his arrogant self and the arduous climb, Rose grabbed the bucket and headed back over to the cabin. 

She paused on the doorstep, her gaze drawn to the small group of people clearly visible through the trees in the direction of town. Before much longer they would be obvious even to someone without her gift. The cabin was stocked with more than just food - there was a small arsenal of weapons hidden in a trapdoor under the main bed - but she was not at all eager to use force against her friends except as a very last resort. Thinking about the frenzied crowd, she wondered just how far they would be willing to go. Hopefully the long trek to get to her and Theta, not to mention the dangerous climb up the mountain, would calm them down, but she knew that James Stones was one of those with not only the knowledge of how to get up here, but also the deep resentment that would make him use physical force. 

Rose scanned the rest of the area automatically and was startled to see storm clouds gathering in the west, dark ones that brought the promise of heavy rain and severe lightning and thunder. It was a good ways out yet, but moving fast; her best estimate was that it would hit in a little less than an hour. Glancing back towards the group headed in their direction, Rose smiled slightly. From their position and given their path, there was no way they would see the approaching storm until it was too late. She could only hope that they could find shelter somewhere once it broke; the type of storms they had tended to be brutal and she did not wish harm on any of them, no matter their intentions towards her.

The storm would give her and Theta a bit more time to prepare and perhaps come up with a plan, if they could manage that without biting each other's heads off. Letting out a weary sigh, she turned back towards the cabin.

"You fall in?" Theta asked from where he was rifling through the cabinets on the far wall.

"Thought about it, but decided better not," she responded mildly.

"So, what's your brilliant plan then?" He sat back on his heels, holding several reels of copper wire, a battery pack, and what looked like the gears from the emergency radio.

She paused on her way across the room and stared at him. "What on earth are you doing?" 

"Getting supplies. I lost most of mine. Very technical, couldn't possibly make you understand." He waved an arm of supplies and nearly lost his hold on the whole thing. "Thought you didn't believe in technology?"

"The town doesn't believe in technology. My dad did." Rose shrugged and returned to discovering the contents of the food supplies. "And why don't you try explaining it."

"You're a human. You don't have the necessary brain power." Theta dumped his armful of stuff on the bed and returned to the cupboard.

"And you're not?" 

"Nope! I'm Gallifreyan, very different." His voice was muffled, as the top half of his body was inside the cupboard.

"Gallifreyan. The Time Lords? You all make laws about time travel and make sure no paradoxes happen, yes?" 

Theta's head appeared above the cupboard door, his eyebrows drawn up high. "What do you know about that?"

"Which? Gallifrey? Time Lords? Or paradoxes?" Rose shrugged. "Not a whole lot, even less, and try to avoid them?"

She was startled to hear the crunch of breaking plastic and turned to see Theta staring at the remains of a destroyed communicator with a dangerous look in his eye.

"Theta..." Rose took a step towards him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine." He turned away from her and tossed a handful of odds and ends on the bed.

She stared at him for a moment longer, noting the way his shoulders were hunched and his head was drawn in, like the pictures of tortoises she had seen in books. Thinking better of trying to engage him in further conversation, she returned to pulling various supplies out of the cabinet. It was getting close to ten in the morning and she hadn't eaten anything yet. She mixed the ingredients for oatcakes together in a bowl before setting it aside to start a fire in the bottom of the stove.

"Thought you said we were hiding out," Theta said, startling her from where he was busy tinkering on the bed.

"We are..." Rose added more kindling to the fire, building it up slowly.

"So, sending a smoke signal up is what exactly?"

Satisfied with the condition of the fire, Rose set out the griddle and put a dab of oil on it. "They're coming straight here. It's pretty unlikely I'd go anywhere else."

Before he had a chance to reply, a peal of thunder rang out and the cabin shook from a sudden blast of rain. "And they've got to find shelter now."

"Knew this was going to happen, did you?" His words were taunting, but his tone was surprisingly gentle.

She glanced over at him with a slight smile. "Did yeah, I'm good at predicting weather."

"Anything you're not good at?" He grinned at her lazily.

"Getting you to explain what you're about." Rose raised an eyebrow at his sprawled form.

He sighed. "Told you I traveled by vortex manipulator, yeah? Well, I found it in the cow pasture, strangely enough." She busied herself with forming the cakes on the griddle and ignored his steady gaze. "Anyway, it was pretty crushed from the herd."

"Think you can get it working again then?" 

"Pretty sure. I'm something of a genius, you see."

"Yeah?" She flashed him a quick smile. "Got that in writing?"

"Did once. It's gone now. Destroyed." His somber mood was back and she sighed to herself. 

As Rose watched the oatcakes to make sure they didn't burn, she was vividly reminded of the time when she had rescued a kitten from nearly being trampled by a herd of cows. It had been a mangy thing, used to surviving on its own, and not overly fond of humans. She had been determined and, armed with plenty of milk and fish, she had slowly won it over. It had grown into a sleek and contented cat, happy to follow Rose wherever she went. It was a lazy, fat old thing now, its mousing days long gone, happy to spend its days asleep behind the stove. She mused about what she had in her arsenal to tame Theta. The sudden image of him lying behind the stove and purring was enough to make her laugh out loud and Theta glanced up sharply. She could just picture him with claws, backing away, spitting and hissing, and it made her laugh all the harder.

"Care to share with the class?" he asked bemusedly. 

"Maybe someday," she chuckled, flipping a layer of oatcakes onto a nearby plate. "You hungry?"

"I could eat." He shoved the debris from his lap and stood up, joining her at the low table in the center of the room.

Rose set out mugs of tea along with the oatcakes and a small jar of honey. Theta tucked into the stack of cakes on his plate with gusto. They ate their simple but filling meal in relative silence, and it wasn't long before they were pushing back their plates and sipping their tea.

"It was good, thank you." Theta broke the quiet.

"Whoa, wait." Rose set her mug down and stared at him. "Did you just compliment me? Was that a real, honest, genuine compliment?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, it was a compliment. I do give those out on occasion."

"I will treasure it always." She placed her hand over her heart and smirked at him.

"Shut it, you."

Rose laughed, pushing back her chair and stretching out her legs. "We've got about another twenty minutes before that storm blows over. They never last that long out here. And then they'll come looking for us."

"Thought you said no one else could get up that mountain."

"James Stones can. So can his son Jimmy and the Cheem brothers." 

"So potentially not that safe, actually." 

Rose sighed. "Was the best I could do on short notice."

"I'm not actually criticizing you." Theta folded and then unfolded his arms. "Look, Rose, it's been awhile since I've been around people."

She hummed in agreement.

"Look." He grabbed her hand, clasping it tightly. "It's like when you're little and you hear about the earth turning and you can't believe it because it seems like everything is standing still. I can feel that, the earth hurtling through space. We're flying through space and time, you and I, clinging to the edge of this ridiculous planet and if we let go..." He abruptly dropped her hand. "That's who I am, Rose Tyler."

The sudden loss of the skin-to-skin contact cut through Rose like a physical knife and she reached out blindly, catching his hand and holding on, waiting for the earth to reorient itself. When she could form words again, she spoke, "You're a touch telepath, aren't you?"

He looked so horrified that for a moment Rose thought he was going to bolt from the cabin, rainstorm or no rainstorm. She increased the pressure on his hand, willing him to stay where he was. 

"Yeah." It was barely a whisper. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean..."

"Hush. It's okay. I'm glad to know." Rose smiled now that the world was no longer flashing colors at her.

He refused to meet her gaze, staring fixedly at the tabletop. 

"Theta," Rose started and then stopped, unsure of what to say to reassure him. She was suddenly very aware that she was sitting in her father's old cabin, in the middle of a rainstorm, holding hands with a virtual stranger. 

"Storm's dying down." He gently disentangled their hands and she allowed that, appreciating his thoughtfulness in taking his time to make sure she was okay in her own skin before completely severing contact.

"Yeah." She stood and started stacking dishes, aware that the silence between them was uncomfortable in a way that it hadn't yet been. 

He joined her in clearing the table, a move that surprised her – he didn't really strike her as the domestic type. All of a sudden it got too much - the strangeness of who he was, the two of them there in that moment, and she needed to get out.

"Rain's practically gone. I'll get more water for dishes," she said, grabbing the bucket and heading for the door before he had a chance to protest.

The rush of fresh air to her lungs helped her to calm down, her heartbeat slowing from the events that had just unfolded. Taking in deep breaths, Rose walked to the stream, savoring the swish of wet grass against her shoes. She took the time to splash water on her face, gulping down several mouthfuls before turning back to the cabin, feeling considerably more relaxed. Pausing on the southern slope of the meadow, she looked in the direction of the town and was startled to see that the small group was very near the base of the mountain. Her mind raced as she stared at them - they must not have stopped for long, waiting only until the worst of the lightning had passed and then started moving in the rain - their anger was likely to be more potent as a result. She could easily pick out the Stones men as well as the Cheem brothers and several other men and women, people she had known and trusted her entire life.

Rose glanced between the group and the cabin fitfully. She could wait here, wait to see what kind of mood they would be in, wait until they were in a confined space. Or she could go down and meet them, leading them away from where Theta was, see if she could reason with them, perhaps convince them to leave peaceably. Once she considered that option, she couldn't entertain any other thought. She briefly considered informing Theta that they were closer, but she knew that if she did that he would want to come with her and would just amp the villagers up even more. Desperately hoping that this would end without bloodshed and that Theta wouldn't believe she had abandoned him, Rose set down her bucket and started off down the trail to meet the crowd.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Theta's POV.   
> There is also a slight violence warning for the very end of this chapter.   
> Thank you for reading and reviewing - your comments mean more than I can say!

Theta continued clearing the table and putting things away for a few minutes after Rose left the cabin before abruptly stopping and looking at the jar of honey in one hand and a dirty spoon in the other as if seeing his hands for the first time. He dropped the items back onto the table and turned away, going over to the bed and staring down at the mess of wires and batteries. 

Even with his superior mental abilities, it would be quite a while yet until he could reassemble anything vaguely resembling a working vortex manipulator. He slipped one hand into his jacket, fingers closing tightly over his trusty sonic screwdriver. He was unbelievably grateful that it had survived his ordeal, but was reluctant to bring it out to use in front of Rose. The pulsing blue light of the sonic was a hated emblem on many planets and he was unsure if Rose would recognize it for what it was. There was a part of him that was irritated that he even cared what this girl, this human girl (or mostly human, the original Earth humans were considerably weaker without the unique gifts that this new improved kind had), thought about him. He was so far above her that it was almost laughable. And yet, as he stared at the mess of food stuff still littering the table, the evidence of her compassion all around him, there was something about her that called to him, drew him to he, made him want things he hadn't wanted in eons. He was sure if she knew all about him, knew his true history or age or the extent of his gifts, she would run screaming for the hills, but he also wanted to believe that she wouldn't, that she would want to stay with him...or, at the very least, allow him to stay close to her, somewhere he could make sure that no harm came to her. 

His thoughts were interrupted by his internal sense of time telling him that Rose had been gone from the cabin for eight minutes and thirty-four seconds, much longer than it should take to simply get more water. His hearts jumped into overdrive as he hurried outside, sure that some harm had come to her. Barreling through the door, he pulled up sharply when he realized the meadow was empty. His sharp sense of hearing picked up the sound of someone crashing through underbrush and he ran in the direction of the sound, catching hold of a sapling right before he lost his footing at the sharp drop off along the southern edge. Far below he could see a group of villagers starting to charge up the side of the mountain, paying little heed to the extent of the noise they were making. He paid them very little attention, however; his eyes were riveted on Rose, who was making her way down to them. She was moving stealthily and the noisy men and women had no idea she was only a few meters from them. From this distance, he could just pick up on her heartbeat - a steady one-two rhythm that he realized he had unconsciously been breathing to for the last nearly forty-four hours - but it was getting increasingly fainter, a fact that was throwing him into something of a panic.

A small part of him whispered that Rose was leaving him, leaving him to go back to her friends and family where her loyalties truly lay - perhaps to lead them up the path and destroy him, but he quickly stamped it out. He was not always the best judge of character, but he knew that Rose was not the sort of person who would do that. She was the truest person he had ever come across and she had brought him this far. If she really wished him harm, she would have simply let the villagers take him while they were still in town or have led them directly to him earlier that morning. The more likely scenario was that she was determined to protect him and that she planned to throw herself into danger to possibly lead them off track. His sense of superiority hated that, scoffing that this tiny human couldn't possibly protect him, but his cold, sealed-off heart leaped a bit at the idea that she was so determined to take care of him that she would jump headfirst into an angry crowd on his behalf. 

He was on the verge of taking off down the mountain after her when a spot of color arrested his attention, coming from the north-west. Reluctantly he turned his attention in that direction, forcing his hearing to focus solely on whatever or whoever it was. From the individual heartbeats, Theta could pick out ten members of their party, clearly out of breath, and unsure of the terrain. Sight was not one of his many gifts and so he could not make out physical features, and he could not sense their emotions without physical touch, but timelines were swirling around them...drawing him in like a beacon. In fact, it was the timelines that he could see, the colors flashing erratically around them. Most of them ended in death, destruction, and chaos. With a startled gasp, he realized that the way this group would take would cross almost directly where Rose and the villagers were and that the mountain currently blocked their view of each other. He knew with a horrified certainty that this group - almost certainly some sort of government agency, probably Torchwood - would slaughter anyone who stood in their path. 

Shaking himself out of the trance of timelines, Theta turned and started down the mountain towards the villagers. Given the rate of speed the other group was moving, they would reach the villagers around the same time he did and he had to try to warn them, even if they didn't believe him. At the very least he could lend a hand in the fray that was sure to result.

It was slow going. The mountain was every bit as treacherous as Rose had warned, particularly this southern edge. On their way up, Rose had brought them via the western side where it was mostly grassy with tree roots to grasp onto. The southern slope was more of a straight downward drop, all shale deposits and dirt turned into mud from the storm. He could sense Rose's lingering essence in the air and he followed that as best as he could. However, Rose had been traveling these paths her entire life; she was fleet of foot and navigated the dangerous paths with an almost uncanny ease. Theta was used to running down paved streets or discussing things with government officials, not traipsing down the side of a muddy dangerous mountain, and with each stumble and slide he cursed every piece of shrubbery and tree branch a little more. 

Without warning he lost his footing, landing hard and sliding sideways down the slope, only stopping when he slammed against an unforgiving tree. He hauled himself back to his feet with a pained groan, swearing explicitly when he realized his slide had taken him a good distance to the east, making it that much harder to reach the villagers and Rose in time. Tuning back in to Rose's muffled heartbeat, he reoriented himself and set off again, attempting to go slower, but having trouble when every sense was screaming that Rose was in danger.

When he finally broke through a clearing in the trees, giving him a clear view to the valley below, he was horrified to see that the other group was level to the villagers and approaching quickly. From this angle he could make out the black and silver uniform of Torchwood officials and though they could see the villagers, the villagers were all standing in a cluster around Rose and paying no mind to the approaching danger. They were all still too far away for him to shout out a warning - though given the weapons in several of the townspeople's hands he thought they would probably start shooting before they even heard what he was saying. Even as he watched, Torchwood fired a shot into the crowd, grazing a man's arm and sending everyone into a screaming panic.

The villagers turned towards the new attack, scrambling for their weapons, firing haphazardly into the bushes. The Torchwood members were carrying sophisticated weapons, ones powered by lasers and guns designed to disintegrate their target, whereas the villagers were armed mostly with clubs and crude handmade bows. Everything was happening so fast he was afraid that if he couldn't find a way to interfere, this was going to be a mass slaughter and Rose was caught right in the center of it. 

After the war, after his planet was gone and all of his people with it, Theta had made a vow to himself not to mess with time again, but as he watched a laser shot head straight towards Rose, that vow seemed entirely meaningless. With a strangled oath, Theta ripped away the mental cables that kept his powers in place, his vision narrowing until all he could see was Rose. Time ceased to pass in its usual fashion; he was aware of each individual leaf magnified a hundred times as he raced past it, even as he stretched time, demanding that it bend to his will. With a roar of rage that no one heard, Theta threw himself into the midst of the crowd, his fury blinding him as he sliced through the Torchwood officials, leaving a swath of destruction in his wake. He gradually became aware that he was losing control both of himself and of time, that the blood he was letting was blinding him, turning him into everything he had once hated about the leaders of his own world.

Turning away from the devastation with a force he almost didn't have the energy to exert, Theta charged towards Rose, knocking into her and throwing her to the ground. As soon as his hands found the skin of her arms, he gave in, allowing time to resume its normal progression around them. He was hardly aware of anything outside the beating of Rose's heart pounding relentlessly where his head rested on her rib cage. Gradually his breathing synced to the beat of her life blood once more and he was able to lift his head, to observe the chaos of the crowd above them. Rose was murmuring nonsense, her arms tight his torso, and seemingly unconcerned about being pinned in the mud by him. 

"Theta, Theta, Theta, what happened? Please tell me what happened? What did you do to yourself?" The endless litany of her words was as confusing as it was reassuring, and he allowed himself to bask in her concern.

At length the sounds of battle tapered off and rough arms were dragging him upwards, away from Rose. His anger threatened to overtake him and only her steadying words, his name repeated over and over and over again, kept him grounded even as the rest of the earth swam in his vision and went dark.


	8. Chapter 8

Everything happened so fast that Rose had hardly been able to logically process events. One moment she was surrounded on all sides by angry villagers ready to storm the mountain and lynch Theta and the next Blon was screaming and holding her arm. She barely had time to register that they were under attack by Torchwood before there was the sound of static, almost like when she tuned the coms to the wrong channel, and then she was flat on her back with a bloody, bruised, and dazed looking Theta pinning her to the ground. 

He didn't seem capable of speech and so she responded the only way she knew how, by wrapping her arms around him, hooking her elbows over his shoulders, and soothing him with her voice and her hands, desperately trying to understand what on earth had happened. She felt him begin to tremble, the tension sliding from the way he held his body, and he lifted his head to look around, eyes wide as if he had no idea where or when he was.

She was just opening her mouth to ask him again what had happened when he was suddenly hauled up and away from her. His eyes went wide with shock, and then anger, his fists balling up, and she was certain he was going to start attacking people.

Scrambling to her feet, she called his name, waited for him to look at her, repeated his name over and over until the moment his eyes rolled back and he became a dead weight in his captor's arms. Only then did she turn her gaze, furious now, towards the men holding him. It was James and Jimmy Stones and she was certain in that moment that she had never hated them more, not even when Jimmy had turned out to be the world's worst boyfriend after James had spent the better part of their growing up years insisting they would end up married.

"Let him go!" She strode towards them, reaching for Theta's dangling hand and grasping it firmly, determined that even passed out he would know her presence.

"Look around you, Rose!" James shouted, refusing to relinquish his grip on Theta's shoulder. "Do you see what this man has done?"

Rose glared at James before turning to see what he was talking about. At first she couldn't believe her eyes; the images meant nothing to her, but she forced herself to stop, to take a deep breath, and focus on the devastation. There were bodies everywhere, missing limbs and heads, some literally ripped to pieces. The very trees were bathed in a coating of red and the blood was a river running across the valley. The corpses were all wearing the familiar and hated black and silver uniforms of Torchwood officials, and from the looks of it, not one of them was left alive. 

She took a breath, forcing herself to breathe through her mouth and not her nose, but even so the coppery taste of blood filled her senses and she could feel the rumble of her protesting stomach. She knew James was watching her closely, waiting for her to show horror at the devastation, and so she concentrated on settling her nerves, keeping her face in neutral – because the scene was horrific, but not a single villager was dead; a few were severely injured, but only from the weapons of Torchwood, not from Theta's hand. There would be time enough to deal with the whys and hows later, right now she had to get him away from James.

Turning back towards James, she addressed him in a steady voice. "Looks to me like you owe Theta an apology and a debt of gratitude."

"How can you say that? Look at this place!" James exclaimed.

"I did." Rose maintained eye contact. "And I stand by my words."

"She's right." Lute suddenly spoke up. "This man quite literally saved us all."

"Agreed." Moxx appeared on Rose's left. "He's a hero."

"Can you hear yourselves?" James growled. "He's a monster!"

"Can you hear yourself?" Moxx countered. "Anyone would think you planned this attack and are upset it failed."

A hush fell over the crowd at Moxx's words and everyone looked at James who suddenly seemed unable to look at anyone. 

"So what? You want me to release a magician who will later slaughter you all in your sleep?" he said at last.

"Oh ho, so that's your problem," Coffa said. "Not that he wreaked havoc here, but that you don't know how he did it."

"No!" James protested, but the others took no notice. Instead they came forward and removed James and Jimmy's grip on Theta's arms.

"Back to the village with him?" Lute asked quietly and it took Rose a full minute before she realized he was asking her.

"Um, no. Can you take him back up to the cabin?" she asked. Images of James rallying another crowd to kill Theta raced through her head. She wanted Theta as far away from large groups of potentially angry people as possible.

"We'll make it happen." 

Lute summoned Coffa and a few of the other younger men and together they lifted Theta and began the arduous journey back up the mountain. Rose led the way, zigzagging her way up the side, choosing the easiest path. It was slow going and none of them talked much, all of them lost to the concentration of their burden and to the devastation below. When they reached the summit at last, Rose hurried into the cabin, quickly removing the bits and bobs from Theta's tinkering from the bed and making way for the men to lay him down. 

When Theta was safely situated, the small group that had carried him in was suddenly in a hurry to go, nearly tripping over each other in their haste to be on their way. Only Lute stayed behind, glancing between Theta and Rose with a concerned expression.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he finally asked.

"Et tu, Lute?" Rose said with a small stab at humor.

"I'm serious, Rose." He ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm safe from harm's way, if that's what’s got you so worried. As long as you all keep James from starting up another crowd intent on destroying an innocent man." She turned away from Lute and started working on the laces on Theta's boots.

"I'll do my best." Lute shifted from one foot to the other. "Do you have all the supplies you need to help him?"

Rose glanced back at him over her shoulder. "Why the sudden change of heart? A couple of hours ago you were ready to see him six feet under."

"He saved Jabe's life. I owe him one," he explained quietly.

Rose bit her lip as she concentrated on pulling off Theta's left boot. She hadn't even noticed Jabe among the wounded and she absently wondered what that said about her. When Lute still didn't leave she raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he was stalling.

"Rose...Rose, this isn't going to end well," Lute said at last.

"Which part?" 

"The dead troop of Torchwood officials." 

"Ahh. That part. And here I thought that was just going to go unnoticed." She picked up the bucket of water from the floor by the door and, grabbing a rag, went to work on wiping the blood and grime from Theta's face.

Lute ignored her sarcasm. "I'm serious, Rose. I think that's part of what's got James so worried. He's the one who's seen the other devastated towns. How long before that happens here after word of this gets around?"

"I don't know," Rose said simply. "But from how I see it, we have two choices. We can hide under our beds and lay the blame at the doorstep of someone who saved us from that horror today. Or we can prepare ourselves for the real threat. Because today you all were so focused on murdering an innocent man, you almost allowed the real murderers in at the door."

"Have you ever considered running for office?" Lute asked with a slight chuckle. "You're right, of course."

"Just pass it along. Try to get them to listen to reason." Rose looked over at him. "And tell my mum I'll be home when I can."

"Got it. I'll let them know." He smiled and left the cabin.

"Well, now it's just you and me." Rose said aloud as the door closed. 

"Good." Theta's mumbled reply made her jump. 

"You're awake." Rose rolled her eyes. "Could have mentioned that earlier."

"And missed your dramatic speech? Not a chance." Theta slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

Rose chuckled, standing up and going over to the cupboards where her dad had kept a stash of clothes. Grabbing a pair of trousers and a shirt, she tossed them at the bed. "Here. Dad was roughly your size. These should fit." Turning towards the door, she picked up the bucket. "I'm going to get some more water."

"Rose?" he said her name quietly.

"Yeah?" If her voice was slightly high pitched, she blamed it on the stress of the day.

"Don't get lost this time." His eyes, trained on hers, were more vulnerable than she had realized he could be.

"Promise." She smiled and backed out of the cabin before she could drown in the emotions that had suddenly flooded the cabin.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are now officially passed the part that was previously on the interwebs. From here on in it's all brand new territory!
> 
> There is a description of a panic attack right at the beginning of this chapter so please keep that in mind.

Rose made it all the way to the stream before the tremors started. She could still taste and smell the blood of the enemy, and every time she blinked, the images of mutilated corpses swam in her vision. Dropping to her knees, Rose plunged her hands into the icy water, scrubbing valiantly at her hands, fingernails, wrists, arms; she splashed the water on her face, eventually giving up and dunking her whole head under, hoping it would cleanse the coppery residue from her skin. Her mind was blank of everything but the restless desire to wash herself clean. Every sense was so tuned in to the task before her she didn't hear the cabin door creak open, nor the heavy footsteps across the grass; it was only when strong arms pulled her backwards out of the water and a deep voice was murmuring nonsense in her ear that she realized she was no longer alone.

It was a long time before she became aware of her surroundings again, and then it was only to recognize that someone was holding her and there was a brisk wind from the north buffeting her jacket. How long she drifted in and out, she never really knew. Occasionally she would startle into full consciousness, fighting the restraints of the arms around her, vaguely aware she was crying. Eventually the world ceased to be a blur of crimson; the edges became sharper and more defined, and she shifted because she had a crick in her neck from the awkward angle that her cheek was resting against a firm chest.

Tilting her head back, she looked up – a part of her was shocked to see Theta's crystal blue eyes staring back at her, edged with worry and exhaustion. She immediately glanced away, moving to stand up, to get away from his piercing gaze and comfortable embrace. He fought her for only a moment before he released his hold, allowing her freedom. She didn't go far – it didn't take too many tries before she accepted that her legs wouldn't hold her. Folding in on herself, she sank down, absently ripping handfuls of grass out of the ground. 

Rose knew her cheeks were burning, or they would be if she could summon the energy. The fact that she had collapsed in front of him – on him – was enough to cause her to want to run, if only she could regain the ability to do so. What he must think of her, she could only shudder to think.

"Horror does different things to different people. No shame in going into shock." Theta's voice startled her and she glanced over to find him staring at her intently, concern in his eyes but no pity, something for which she was extremely grateful.

"You wouldn't." She spoke before she could think and immediately regretted it.

"Me, I've seen too much war and bloodshed. Gotten immune. It's not necessarily a good thing." His voice grew quieter as he spoke. "Shows you're still human when you react like that."

"And you're not," she concluded, just as quietly.

"No. No, I'm not." He stood up abruptly, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Guess I'd better be off then."

She stared up at him, open-mouthed, unable to comprehend his words or his meaning.

"Thanks for...everything then." Theta turned away, walking towards the cabin, shoulders slumped.

Rose stayed frozen, trying desperately to understand what she'd said, what had happened. After everything that had happened, why would he run now? She watched him gain the door of the cabin and disappear inside. Each second ticked loudly inside her mind and ninety-six of them passed before he reemerged, glanced her way briefly, and set off down the mountain. 

She could just see the top of his head when she found her voice. "Theta! Wait!" Somehow she found the energy to stand and walk across the clearing. 

At the sound of her voice he had frozen, back rigid, waiting for her to...well, she didn't know what exactly. Suddenly she was angry. How dare he leave now? How dare he storm off like he was the martyr and leave her to clean up his mess? 

"Where on earth do you think you're going?" Her voice gave away none of her fear and all of her anger. 

"Away. You'll be safer without me." He spoke without turning around.

"Yeah? Running away, are you? Thought that was the coward's choice." She was taunting him and she had no idea why.

"What would you rather have me do, Rose?" He spun around, holding onto a young sapling for balance, breathing heavily. "I bring destruction. Did you see what I did down there? What I'm capable of? I could do that again, any time. And next time I might not be able to stop."

"Yes, I did see what you did. I saw you protect people. I saw you kill those intent on killing. I saw you save women and children." Rose started down the path towards him, her legs still shaky, but determined to reach him. 

"Since when does that justify murder? That's what I am. A murderer. James Stones is right about me. I should be locked up and the key thrown away." Theta refused to meet her gaze as he spoke.

"Damn it, Theta. Would you listen to me?" Rose stopped in front of him, folding her arms and glaring at him. "What's done is done. You protected a village today. Now, stop feeling sorry for yourself and get yourself back up to the cabin before we both pass out."

His gaze swung to meet hers, instantly worried. "You need to eat."

"So do you." Rose grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers and tugging. "Come on then."

Together the two made their way back up the short distance to the clearing. Once they reached level ground, Rose glared at him. "Don't make me climb that again. I've had quite enough of that today, thanks."

He rolled his eyes, but gently bumped her shoulder with his, mumbling something about stupid apes under his breath that she didn't quite catch nor did she feel that she needed to. They worked side by side to make tea and heat up the leftover oatcakes, sinking down on the cabin's doorstep to eat their light meal in silence. 

Afterwards as they watched the sun sink below the horizon, Rose broke the silence. "Sorry I panicked on you."

"No need to apologize," he responded. "Sorry I tried to run away." 

"No need to apologize." She rolled her eyes at him and he chuckled. "So, what now?"

He glanced over at her and then went back to studying the tree line. "It'll take a while for word to get back to Torchwood headquarters; they won't be expected to return for at least a week. So, I'd say we've got a little more than a week before we really have to worry."

"Great. So we have a week to convince an entire town to either go into hiding or to defend themselves," Rose nodded. "That should be easy."

"We?" 

"Yes," she said firmly. "We."

"No one down there wants to listen to me." 

"Would you quit the feeling sorry for yourself act? Frankly, it's starting to get annoying."

"I don't feel sorry for myself!" he protested.

"You so do. You're doing it this very moment." She shook her head at him. 

"Why are you doing this?" Theta turned to look at her, tilting his head to one side.

"Which thing, in particular?"

"This. Sitting here. With me."

"Would you prefer if I sat inside?" Rose made a motion to get up, only to be stopped by his hand on her arm.

"Don't be daft," he snorted. "You've got a family, friends down there. And yet, you're sitting up here with me. Why?"

She shrugged. "Seems like the place to be tonight."

"Fine. Whatever. Forget I asked." He pulled his hand away from her and crossed his arms.

"Theta," she sighed. "I'm here because I thought you needed me. Maybe I was wrong."

He was silent for so long she was beginning to think she had offended him again somehow, but eventually he spoke. "Guess I do, at that."

"Alright then." Impulsively she reached over and grabbed his hand, forcing him to uncross his arms. "So, tomorrow you want to go back to the village and see if we can talk some sense into them?"

"Are you actually asking my opinion?" He gave her a faux shocked look.

"Don't get used to it." 

He laughed, a genuine, heartfelt laugh that made her join in, finally releasing the tensions of the day into a cacophony of noise that echoed down the mountain and back, startling the birds and sending them flying into the darkening sky. When they regained their breath once more, he looked down at her with a slight smile. "Tomorrow sounds good."

"Okay. And now, I need some sleep. I'm exhausted." She released his hand and stood. "Are you, I mean, do you..." She ground to a halt, suddenly embarrassed about asking him about the sleeping situation. The cabin was only outfitted with the one bed after all.

"I don't need much sleep. Time Lord, remember? I've got a few more hours left to work on that vortex manipulator, after all." Theta stood also, offering her a lazy grin before leading the way into the cabin and going directly to the table, collecting the bits of junk she had dumped there earlier. "As long as you haven't messed it up too badly."

"Oi. Shut it. I was in a hurry trying to save your life. You could try a thank you," Rose complained, but there was no real heat behind her words. 

"Thank you, Rose." He sounded actually genuine and she paused in the midst of slipping off her shoes to regard him through narrowed eyes.

Satisfied that he seemed sincere, she nodded at him. "You're welcome, Theta."

He smiled briefly at her before bending over his work once more. Rose finished taking off her shoes and jacket before pulling back the heavy quilt on the bed. One night spent sleeping in her clothes wouldn't kill her. The mattress felt fantastic – it seemed like it had been days since she had last slept, and she closed her eyes immediately. She barely heard Theta's whispered, "Goodnight, Rose Tyler," as she drifted off to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll notice the series title has now changed to: Renegades & Revolutions.
> 
> I also finished Season Two so I will now be posting twice a week - Mondays & Fridays!

The slam of the cabin door was enough to punch a hole in the endless stream of broken bodies which were running on a loop in Rose's dreams. Vaguely she remembered Theta bending over her bed a few times in the night, responding to her cries and resting his hand on her forehead, using his touch telepathy to send warm thoughts into her brain. Despite that, she threw back the covers with a snort of annoyance. Was it really too much to ask to wake up peacefully at least one morning? The cabin was empty, of course, and she grabbed her jacket on the way across the room, not bothering to stop for her shoes.

She threw open the door, intent on giving Theta a piece of her mind on his morning habits and the finer points of politeness, but the words died on her tongue when she caught sight of him. He had stripped to the waist and was washing himself in the stream. She stayed frozen, mouth working, but no sound coming out as she drank in the view of his toned back and shoulders, the muscles rippling under his skin. She had known of course that he was broad-shouldered and well-built, but she could not have possibly guessed he was hiding that body under his ever-present leather jacket and heavy jumpers.

"You gonna stand there gawking all day?" His amused voice brought her back to her senses and she jumped back inside and slammed the door.

Despite the solid wooden door between them, Rose couldn't help her burning face as she hurried to start a fire for tea and a quick breakfast. There was no use thinking about Theta like that; as soon as this crisis was over with the village, he was sure to be on his way, and probably sooner than that if he had his way. With that sobering thought, she measured the tea into mugs and some oats into a pan. 

By the time Theta came inside, Rose was once more calm and she ignored his comment about ogling, brushing past him, and enjoying a quick wash of her own at the stream. Now that she looked more closely she could see the stains on her clothing: grass and what she dearly hoped was mud. There was a tear in the knee and another near the hem of her shirt. She could also do with a good wash, shuddering as she got a glimpse of her feet. 

As she splashed water on her face, she tried to imagine how on earth they were going to convince the villagers to leave Powell. They weren't the sort of folks who would take kindly to such a suggestion; her only hope was that people like Lute would be on her side and would help the others listen to reason.

When she returned to the cabin, she was surprised to see Theta pouring the hot water for tea into their mugs. She raised her eyebrow at him and he just grinned and extended one of the mugs towards her.

"Tea?"

Rose accepted the drink gratefully and took a small sip. "So, did you get your vortex manipulator working?"

"Not yet, but I will. Genius, me, remember?"

"Oh right, of course. How could I forget such an important fact?" She set down her mug and started dishing up the hot cereal.

Theta shook his head regretfully and sank into one of the chairs. "What is this concoction?"

"Porridge. Simple, but filling. Eat, Time Lord; you'll feel better."

They dug in for a few moments in relative silence and Rose wondered for the umpteenth time why this daft man was swiftly becoming the most important person she'd ever met and why she could no longer see the same imperfections she had initially. Oh, he still had overlarge ears and his features weren't exactly what one would call "pretty" but there was a ruggedness to them that spoke of experience and knowledge. It made her stomach jump in ways she would never have anticipated.

"What are you looking at?" Theta's grumpy voice interrupted her thoughts. 

She would have been offended if she wasn't starting to catch onto the fact that grumpy was just what his voice sounded like. Suddenly she wanted to understand him, to find out what made him tick and she wanted that now, here in the relative safety of the cabin, before they faced the town.

"Can you...will you tell me what happened? To your people?" she asked hesitantly, afraid of sending him into a downward spiral, but determined to take the risk.

Theta was silent for so long she was sure he was going to refuse, perhaps get up and storm away angrily, but at last he spoke. "There was a...war. I made choices and people died. My people died."

"I'm sorry," she said, touching his hand and jumping slightly at the extreme sadness that filled her.

"Yeah," he sighed heavily. "Listen, Rose. I'll tell you, but not right now. We've got other things to worry about than history."

She nodded, slowly moving her fingers from his and using the table to regain her sense of equilibrium.

"So what's the plan to convince the villagers to leave?" he asked, false cheerfulness infusing his voice and picking up his plate and moving it to the bucket in the corner

"Go down and tell them they need to," she said.

"I doubt it'll be that easy."

"Probably not, but plans...they don't work in the long run. You come up with something and you find in short order it's all gone tits up. Better to just wing it and go with the flow."

He let out a short laugh and then turned towards the door, saying something about fresh air.

Rose sighed, burying her face in her hands for a moment. She was just a nineteen year old from Powell; what did she know of what to say to Time Lords to comfort them after a war with such devastating results? She knew she needed to work to erase these feelings of protection for him before he swanned off for real this time and she was left with nothing but bitter memories of screwing up his mental health more than it already was. 

Standing up to stack the dishes, Rose figured she should just be glad he was staying long enough to convince her town to head for safety...or to fix his vortex manipulator, whichever came first. 

They were ready to head to the village inside of ten minutes and the hike through the woods was relatively quiet, interspersed only with comments of "watch that branch" and "this part is slippery" until they were on the outskirts of Powell.

"Rose, I'm not good at people." 

"You mentioned that," she said, brushing his shoulder with her own to take some of the acidity out of the sentence.

"I want to help," he continued. "I haven't always done that. Helped, I mean. But that's what I want to do. I'm not going to be good at it though."

She smiled. "That's why you've got me," she said lightly.

His quiet "yeah" was almost lost to the sounds of Jackie calling out to them.

They spent the next few hours at the Tylers', sitting around Jackie's kitchen table and discussing the situation with whatever passersby (and there were quite a few) stopped in and wanted to chat. It took some time to convince Jackie that Rose really was alright and she even spent some time fussing over Theta, much to everyone's surprise and Theta's obvious discomfort.

Despite the underlying tension, Rose enjoyed the afternoon of having someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to back her up when she said something or to challenge her point of view. There was an undercurrent of understanding that seemed to flow between her and Theta now and though she was half afraid to poke at it too much in case it would disintegrate, it was something to find comfort in.

By noon public opinion was that there would be a town meeting in the Costellos' new barn and as of right now, James would lead it, though there was a low muttering as people made their way in that direction that he wouldn't lead the entire thing. Lute and Coffa had clearly worked hard to spread seeds of discontent.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long-awaited Town Hall Meeting

"Everybody listen up now." James Stones' voice rang through the Costellos' new barn where an array of chairs and benches had been arranged and most of Powell's population was crowded onto them. "This is an impromptu Powell town meeting in which we will discuss..."

Rose tuned him out, shifting uncomfortably on the wooden bench where she was sitting between Theta and her mum. Turning her head to check on Theta's expression, she jumped when she saw Mickey sitting just behind them and to the left. She hadn't thought of Mickey at all in the past twenty-four hours. She felt her face turn red and she turned back towards the front. She didn't have time to worry about Mickey just then, there were other things on her mind.

She knew this meeting was going to change everything that was her life and she wasn't sure she was ready. She had spent so much of her life wishing for the future, for new beginnings and new adventures, and now that she was on the verge of one she wasn't entirely sure she was ready.

"See, the thing is, we don't know much about that...well, not man, but whatever he is." James suddenly appeared in front of their bench, interrupting Rose's thoughts.

"He as good as slaughtered them Torchwood folks. I say that makes him alright in my book." Moxx's voice piped up from the back.

"No one cares Moxx," James started but was instantly cut off by a round of dissenting voices.

The tidal wave of noise was cut off by Lute. "What's past is past; I say welcome to Powell."

"Now see here," James said angrily, "It's not just your village. It's all of ours. And you don't get to make the call as to who stays and who goes."

"Neither do you!" Coffa leveled a glare at James. "Perhaps it is time for a change of leadership around here."

"Now, now," Doctor Sneed spoke up. "No need for all that. Let's do this the old-fashioned way. Let's put it to a vote."

"What, exactly, are we voting on?" Jackie put in. "Seems to me that you all are so worried about who's running the show, you've forgot we've got a real problem: Torchwood."

There was a moment of shocked silence following Jackie's outburst while Rose stared at her in astonishment. Not that Jackie had ever been known to stay silent, but Rose hadn't known that Jackie had been paying attention to her and Theta's conversations.

"I told you. Death follows Torchwood." Old Man Clive broke the silence.

"So what do we do?" Coffa Cheem wondered aloud.

"Why don't we ask him?" Moxx was gesturing at Theta.

There was a murmur of agreement and everyone looked at Theta expectantly.

Theta looked extremely uncomfortable but the silence was stretching and it was clear he didn't have much of a choice.

"Yesterday Torchwood showed up here," he said, standing up and half turning to face the crowd. "They were taken care of this time..."

"They didn't need to have been," James interrupted and this time the voices were louder in their anger.

"I still think you brought them here," Moxx said and the crowd turned to watch his ponderous movement towards the front of the room.

James took steps back but several people were suddenly in his space, preventing him from moving. It was a moment's work for James to be sat in a chair and ropes to be produced and a flurry of movement later, James was tied down and facing the crowd, an expression that could only be interpreted as guilt on his face.

"It's time you answered our questions," Moxx announced, seating himself in a chair on James' right so that everyone had a clear view of the proceedings. 

"Did you lead Torchwood here?"

"What do you know about Torchwood?"

"How much did they pay you?"

"How much time do we have?"

"Why did you do it?"

"How long you been working for them?" 

The questions rained down from the furious crowd and it took some time to get them settled and quiet enough to actually hear James' response. It took awhile to piece together the whole story because every sentence he spoke was interrupted, but eventually the entire thing was laid out before the judging crowd.

It turned out that James had been in the pay of Torchwood since his wife had run off for Londyn three years ago. She had apparently not run off at all, but had received an attractive job offer and gone to fulfill it. James had been offered an exorbitant fee to feed information regarding the placement of the villages on the river and what their defenses were and their loyalties. He was behind all of the attacks and though he said he knew that Powell was on the list, he swore that they had promised him that his continued reporting was going to save them.

"They promised they'd spare us!" he finished, looking at the crowd with something amounting to fear in his face.

His defense was drowned out in a chorus of boos and popular opinion soon had him removed to spend some time locked in the outhouse for the remainder of the meeting.

It took even more time to get things back on track and astonishingly to everyone in the vicinity, it was again Jackie who brought them around to the point. They had time to figure out what to do about James; more importantly, what were they to do now. Rose gave her mum a grateful squeeze when that got the crowd to fall silent, turning the meeting over to Lute and Coffa, both of whom seemed to be the natural and expected new leaders.

Immediately it was clear there was a sharp divide. Some wanted to stay where they were, defending their own borders - this was their home. Others were all for loading up and starting off, looking for a new home. Theta interjected that there was a new colony, Berkshyre, that rumor had it was a haven for those escaping the long arm of Torchwood. This sparked a lot of interest and debate about the veracity of the story, whether the place had room for newcomers, and the best way to reach it. 

The resulting conversation took most of the rest of the afternoon and darkness was falling by the time the town was starting to reach a consensus. The decision was slowly becoming unanimous that they would leave Powell and set out. The destination would probably be Berkshyre, but that bit was open to negotiation once they reached the open water. It was clear they would need to travel by boat and popular opinion suggested they ought to leave in a week to give everyone enough time to prepare.

"All those in favor, say aye," Lute said, as the sun's last rays spread their way across the room.

Before anyone could say so much as an "a" the door burst open and Tony entered the room at a dead run. 

"He's not there! He's gone!" He ran a few more steps and collapsed on a bench. "James is gone!"

There was immediate panic after that and this time it was Theta that stopped it.

"Enough!" His voice was loud enough to freeze the mass exodus and turn every face towards his in the intense silence. 

"What do you mean, he's gone?" Theta demanded, turning his full stare on the boy.

Rose felt a tightening in her belly as the sounds of that deep voice filled her ears. There was something intoxicating about this version of the Time Lord and it did things to her insides that were wholly unexpected.

"I saw, I saw it," Tony stumbled over his words. "I was hiding in the loft and listening when I saw Jimmy sneak to the outhouse. He opened the door and let James out and he handed him something."

"He handed him what?" Theta asked, his voice evening out but the intense stare never dimming.

"I don't know! It was like a armband and James talked into it - I didn't hear what he said - and then he grabbed Jimmy's arm and then..." Tony's eyes found his mother, pure terror spilling from them. "They disappeared! Just like that. Just gone."

Theta found Rose's eyes over her brother's shoulder. "Vortex manipulator," they both said at the same moment.

"That moves our timetable up a bit," Lute interjected. "We can't stay here if Torchwood knows, possibly right at this very second, the events of the past twenty-four hours."

"We can't leave tonight," Coffa continued. "It's too late to try to get all the supplies and children rounded up."

"Can't they all travel by that vortex thingy?" Jackie asked, interrupting the brothers.

All eyes turned to Theta and this time he hardly looked surprised. "No, it takes a lot of energy to move a large force by vortex manipulator. Torchwood has other tech, but nothing that can move a lot of people instantaneously. It'll take them a while to get out here. But don't get comfortable; your timetable has definitely moved up. They'll be here in the next few days."

Lute quickly raised his voice over the panicked voices. "Tomorrow at noon we'll leave. Anyone who wants to come is more than welcome to join us, but we'll wait for no one. Gather the food and supplies you think we'll need, but be conservative. We'll try to combine boats where we can, but it'll be a large procession as it is."

"Go home, get some sleep," Coffa added. "You'll need it."

The crowd slowly dispersed, moving in small quick-talking packs towards homes and families. Rose walked with Theta and Jackie, who had a firm grip on Tony's hand. For once the small boy wasn't resisting the motherly guidance.

"Are you coming with?" Jackie broke the silence as they finally made their cabin. 

It took Rose a minute to realize her mum was directing the question towards both of them and even longer to realize Theta was waiting for her response. Without warning there were tears in her eyes and the cabin felt impossibly small. 

"I don't know," she managed to choke out.

Theta was suddenly in her space, blocking her with his own body, his eyes filled with concern and a question.

"Be alright," Rose said for his ears only. "I'd rather go back to the mountain cabin though, yeah?"

Theta nodded and stepped back, giving her space to throw her arms around Jackie for a too brief moment. Moving towards the back of the room, Rose grabbed some clothes and her bag of necessities she always took with her on longer jaunts.

"You'll be back before we leave?" Jackie's voice was full of fear and it almost caused the tears to overflow.

"Yeah," Rose succeeded in saying before turning towards the door, hyper aware of Theta in her space.

The climb back to the cabin was as silent as the descent had been, but it was a different type of silence and Rose was too overwhelmed to be able to decipher it. It was clear that Theta was a fast learner because he directed their footsteps nearly as often as Rose did and they made the grassy top in record time.

Rose didn't bother to enter the building, simply sinking to the ground with her back against the reassuring logs of the wall. Theta dropped down next to her, their arms pressed together from shoulder to wrist. 

"There was a time war," Theta started speaking without prompting. "It started before you were born, but it was what spawned the unrest happening now. Do you remember?"

He waited for her nod of recognition - she had heard her dad talk to various travelers in hushed tones about a space war.

"It raged through the galaxies," he continued, the words seemingly ripped from him one by one, "and through all of time and space. It was brutal and it went on for centuries and for a single second, all at once. There were many casualties on both sides. Those I loved died. Those I hated died. The Time Lords, they were a brutal and arrogant people, but low Gallifreyans, they didn't deserve it. They didn't deserve any of it. I was...I was not around for a lot of it. Did my own thing, off gallivanting. But I was called home, at the end. 

"I had to make a choice. A choice between my people and the world. A choice I couldn't make. But I did. I made it." He looked at her, tears standing in his eyes. "I made a choice, Rose Tyler. And they're gone. I killed them. But I survived. My planet burned, like the original earth. Gone before its time. I'm the only survivor, the last of the Time Lords, and I'm left on my own because there's no one else."

She couldn't help it then, reaching out to clasp his hand, shuddering as a fresh wave of pain and loss washed over her. She was determined to help him bear it, if even for a moment. She could see his shoulders relax infinitesimally and how long they stayed in that position, she couldn't have said. She had to take several deep breaths before she could finally find her voice.

"There's me," she said because it was the first thing she thought of, but as the words left her mouth they became the truest things she had ever spoken.

She was sure she didn't imagine the way his fingers tightened, just for a moment around hers.

"It's dangerous out there," he said. "More than I can tell you. Do you want to go with them?"

"I don't know." She scuffed her shoes through the grass absently, never taking her eyes off his face. "I want," she paused and felt her stomach rumble a protest. "I want food! We never ate supper and I'm starved."

He laughed as she scrambled to her feet, using their joined hands to bring him up with her. "And you can cook this time!"

Theta spread his arms wide. "Can't cook! Rubbish at it really."

"What sort of date are you?" she teased, putting her hand on the cabin door. "Come on then Time Lord, you can at least help!"


	12. Chapter 12

For the fourth morning in a row, Theta's noises woke up Rose - this time from a dream about being surrounded by a mob of angry cows. It was a crackling sound that sounded oddly familiar, but which somehow perfectly accented the mooing cows. 

She and Theta had stayed up late the night before, making a silly feast and joking a lot. It was the most relaxed they had been around each other and it was a welcome interlude from everything else. She had collapsed into bed long after the sun had set and had fallen asleep watching the lines of his shoulders as he set back to work on the vortex manipulator. 

Groaning, she rolled on to her side to squint across the semi-darkness at the table. Sure enough the crackling sounded again and this time it was accompanied by a blue light that seemed to emanate from a silver tube. 

"Sonic," Rose remembered aloud and was not at all surprised to see Theta jump and the silver tube disappear into his pocket.

"What did you say?" he demanded, sounding a bit too much like Tony with his hand caught in the cookie jar.

"Sonic. That...whatever that was, that was sonic," Rose said, rolling over and arching her back, listening to the cracks and pops of her joints protesting the multiple climbs up and down the mountain and the adrenaline rushes it had endured. 

"What do you know about sonic? Thought you lot were opposed to tech."

"My dad, remember? He was into tech; that's where you've got that mess." Rose absently waved one hand in his general direction. "He usually tried to find the latest tech from travelers willing to share secrets for protection. What kind of sonic thing is that then? Transmitter? Transponder? Blaster? Disruptor?"

Theta coughed something that sounded like it might have vaguely been a word, but not one that she was awake enough to understand. Rose shook her head and took her time untwisting the blanket from her body and rolling out of bed, shaking out her clothes. This sleeping in her clothes thing was getting old.

Padding over to the table, she dropped into a chair and stared at him expectantly. He continued shuffling bits of wires in a way that he probably thought looked like working, but very clearly was not. 

Clearing her throat, she tried again. "A sonic what now?"

"It's sonic, okay? Totally sonic." His hand moved protectively towards his pocket, patting it like you would a small puppy.

Rose crossed her arms and waited some more. It was kind of entertaining to see him so nervous and she didn't often have the upper-hand in their conversations. 

When it became apparent he wasn't actually going to respond, she tried for the third time. "A sonic what?"

"Screwdriver, okay!" he said, a bit too loudly for the space. 

"Who has a sonic screwdriver?" 

"I do!" Theta's fingers descended into his pocket and retrieved the silver tube, waving it around. "What, you've never been bored? Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?'

"Can't say as I have. Never considered making tools sonic." She leaned forward to get a better look. "What can it do besides put up cabinets?"

"Oh lots of things! Fuse wires! Unlock locks! Lock locks!" Theta's voice continued to rise as he brought the end of the tube towards some wires and pressed a button. The crackling sounded again and the two wires fused together. "See! Lots of things."

"Very impressive."

"I know I am." Theta sounded satisfied as he examined the two wires. "Oh! Rose! I fixed it!"

Dropping the wires to the table, he picked up what looked like a leather armband with a small box attached. Cradling it in his hands, Theta grinned at her and Rose couldn't help smiling back. The obvious pride in his eyes was making him look a lot more like an oversized schoolboy than a well-respected Time Lord. And then she realized what he had said.

"Oh! Is that the vortex manipulator?" She looked at the contraption more closely. It wasn't particularly impressive looking, but if the rumors - and Tony's terror - were true, this could transport its wearer to...anywhere.

The explanation Theta went into was entirely too long and complicated for the circumstances, but Rose listened closely enough to catch that yes, this particular model could transport its wearer with some possible modifications and a slight chance for error. When it seemed like the tech speech was wrapping up, Rose suggested breakfast and it was well received.

When the simple but filling breakfast of oatmeal was once again squeezed on one half of the tech strewn table, Rose brought up the idea of testing the vortex manipulator.

"It makes sense," she argued. "Before using it for an actual mission, you should test it out. Make sure it actually works for short distances."

"What did you have in mind?" he asked scraping the last bit of porridge from his bowl and regarding her with narrowed eyes.

"Just avoid hiking down into town and take this instead. That way you know you can set it for an actual destination and you get there when you want to."

"I don't like your tone of disbelief in my abilities," Theta protested. "I've spent two nights working on putting this together."

Rose pushed her chair back and started stacking dishes for what would probably be the last time in her father's cabin. "Yeah, I know. With bits of scrap left from at least nine years ago. Who knows if they'll stand the test of distance and, and vortex stuff."

"Vortex stuff? More technical terms?"

"Yeah, full of them, I am," Rose laughed. "Anyway, I know you're just as eager to try it out. Don't try to pretend you aren't."

That won him over and he stopped arguing with her. Together they cleaned up the food and dishes, and wiped down the cabin, storing things away carefully to prevent wildlife from breaking in. After that they chose from the food and supply storage what they should bring with them and what the townspeople might need in the days and weeks ahead, packing it into bags. In the end they both strongly resembled pack mules with the amount of bags and boxes hanging off of them.

Rose could tell the whole time they were working that there was an undercurrent of restlessness in Theta during the performance of these domestic duties, but she could also tell that he was working to tamp it down. In thanks, she would run her hand across his shoulder or touch his hand when they passed by each other. Gradually she became aware that he was repeating the gesture and that they had started to communicate without words. She wasn't entirely sure what that meant for the future when he inevitably left, but for the moment it was the most natural thing in the world.

"That's the last of it then?" Theta asked about an hour after breakfast.

"Yeah, I think so. You got all the bits of tech you want?" Rose motioned at Theta's overlarge pockets into which he had dumped an astonishing amount of stuff, but managed to avoid any lumps in the fabric. There was a secret there, she just knew it.

He nodded and held out a hand to her, looping it through his arm and then pressing buttons on his vortex manipulator.

"Off we go then!"

There was a curiously painful sensation from behind her belly and her breastbone and the major joints of her arms and legs and neck. Rose became aware that they were moving and, at the same time, they were standing still and everything was moving around them. The blur of colors and noises was slightly terrifying, but it was over almost immediately and Rose found herself stumbling a bit on the dusty street outside of her cabin on the edge of town.

"A bit rocky," Theta was saying, tapping his wrist. "Works though!" 

He grinned brightly down at her, but Rose was working to take deep breaths in and didn't see him. After the initial urge to vomit passed, she was able to appreciate the quick movement through the vortex of time and space and told him as much, only to roll his eyes at his puffed up chest.

Jackie was a mini tornado when they entered the cabin and immediately put Rose and Theta to work. Theta bore these domestics with less patience than he had when it had just been him and Rose. He frequently left the cabin to wander down to the shore or to fidget with some spare bits of tech. 

Rose had the sense he was biding his time until he could make his leave with the least amount of fuss and she had to fight the urge to cry every time she thought about him leaving and facing everything without him. She tamped down the feelings so she could help Jackie and Tony pack their essential belongings into waterproof bags and boxes and load it into Pete's old boat. It had been well-maintained by the Cheem family and Rose was grateful to them. 

It wasn't noon, but it wasn't quite one o'clock either when those who were leaving were assembled on the banks of the river. About fifteen families were leaving and about five were staying behind. Some of them planned on staying put, others on striking off on foot hoping to dodge Torchwood and make it to Londyn on their own. Lute and Coffa said a few words and then people started loading into boats and pushing them off. Lute was in the head vessel, consulting with a bit of parchment which Rose didn't recognize.

Theta saw her quizzical expression. "Helped him draw up a rough map to Berkshyre, best as I can remember." 

Rose smiled and threw her arms around him, surprising them both. It took a moment for his arms to descend but they stood for several moments before Mickey's shouted "Rose!" sounded from the river.

"Guess that's me off then," she said, wiping her eyes and taking a step towards her mum's boat.

Jackie had said nothing about these proceedings, but her eyes followed their every move. Rose was almost to the edge of the dock when Theta spoke again.

"Unless."

"Yes?" She turned back towards him, one foot in the boat one on dry land.

"I don't know, you could come with me." His voice was light, deliberately so she thought. "This vortex manipulator isn't just local, you know. It can take us anywhere. Free of charge."

"Don't!" Mickey's voice surprised them both and they turned. 

Mickey was crouched on the floor of the boat, looking up at them with wide eyes. "He's an alien! You don't know a thing about him!"

Rose turned back towards Theta, thinking that wasn't quite true anymore.

"He's not invited," Theta said with a devious tilt of his eyebrows. "What do you think?"

"Is it always dangerous?"

"Yeah."

Rose looked away from Theta, the Time Lord for whom her heart was already well on its way to being lost, at Jackie, Tony, and Mickey - watching her with anxious expressions.

"I can't," she said, turning back to him. "I've got to take care of my mum and brother. And someone's got to make sure this lot is okay." She waved her hand to encompass the flock of boats.

Theta stood for a moment, their eyes locked. "Okay," he said simply, taking a step backwards. "See you around."

With his eyes still fixed on hers, he pressed a button on his wrist and disappeared.

Rose stayed where she was for a heartbeat and then two. For a split second after he was gone, she could see his outline and then it vanished in a puff of smoke and he was truly gone. She could hardly breathe over the sudden rushing noise that filled her ears.

"Rose." Jackie's voice broke through her thoughts. 

Forcing a smile on her face, Rose turned back to the boat and completed her descent into it. 

"Let's be off then!" she said, injecting a smile into her voice and reaching for an oar to push away from shore.

The boat slowly moved away from the dock and entered the current, bumping slightly as it settled into the crush of boats. Rose glanced back over her shoulder at the last place she had seen him, ignoring the murmuring of voices in her boat. She couldn't help the feeling that she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ..sorry about the cliffhanger...


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theta's POV - what happens after Rose's rejection

Theta doesn't know where he is at first. It's not that his exceptional Time Lord senses have given out, it's that all of them are still tuned to a pink and yellow New Earth girl somewhere that is most distinctly not here. He stumbles forward, letting his peripherals do the work to let him know he's in a market, alone in a sea of people who are quick to jump to the side when they catch sight of his expression. 

He strides onward, trying to focus on a destination instead of on her rejection playing like an endless loop through his mind. She doesn't want him! Which, of course she doesn't. It's not about her "wanting" him exactly. It's more she doesn't want to travel with him. Abandoning him for domestics and Rickey, his lip curls as he repeats the name: Rickey. With an R. Being mean to the boy brings a certain sort of satisfaction and he continues on that vein for a minute or two more before promptly falling back into misery.

Rejection. Rejected by Rose Tyler. A girl, woman, who up until four and a half days ago he hadn't even known existed. Wouldn't have cared existed, a traitorous voice whispers in his mind, a voice with a suspicious High Gallifreyan accent which he promptly ignores. Doesn't need that sort of nonsense in his life. The voice obediently stops and it's silent in his mind.

And then he stops still in the middle of the road. Because it's silent in his mind. He's used to that...or he was. Before...before what? Before the battle, before the moment that he accidentally overwhelmed Rose with the knowledge of the universe. No, before that! When he'd first woken up in her cabin clutching her hand. Before he realized she somehow had a low grade ability for telepathy running through her system, something he had glossed over fairly quickly. Something he had taken advantage of, the hum of her in his mind when he touched her, but hadn't realized was happening because he was so used to the presence of others in his mind. He'd forgotten the blank emptiness and it had been so good, so very good to sense someone else that he had pretended that it wasn't really happening.

Except. Except she's gone. Hundreds of kilometers away, thousands if his time senses are working and he's where he thinks he is, in a boat with Jackie and Tony and Rickey. And he's here. Alone. So. Very. Alone.

He starts moving again, cursing himself for getting attached, for wanting so badly to just hit a simple button on his wrist and go back. He is old, so very old, and broken. She is young and fresh, her whole life stretching before her. It is unconscionable to even consider taking that away from her, no matter what he wants. Wants. There's that word again. He wants. It's such a new sensation he has to take a deep breath before he can contemplate it. She isn't even here and she's still affecting his system, making him feel things he hasn't in years, decades, centuries really. He wants. Oh yes, he wants. Has ever since he woke up and she was squeezing his hand in between knitting an abnormally long scarf. 

He thinks of half a dozen explanations in as many steps and discards them all in the next six. He doesn't know why and he's almost, almost okay with that. He thinks that maybe, with time and maybe some near-death experiences that he'll forget about her. He'll be able to move on and enter into a post-Rose existence, however that idea may pale in comparison with the idea and experience of having Rose in his life, by his side, her hand in his, her voice ringing in the breeze, her laugh...hold on.

Once more he stops in the middle of the road. He is coming up to an intersection and from the right hand road he hears a sound, a distinct sound he would recognize anywhere, and a niggling in the back of his mind, a mere whisper of noise. Using the building as cover, he creeps up and peers around it down the new street. His mouth drops open as he sees two figures make their way up in his general direction.

They are hand-in-hand, identical grins on their faces. He recognizes himself easily enough, overlarge ears, flapping leather jacket, clunky work boots, but it's Her that makes him inhale sharply. She is the same, but different. Her hair is shorter, swept away from her face, there is a tiny scar on her cheek that wasn't there an hour before. She is wearing a blue leather jacket, astonishingly similar to his own and her shoes are meant for running. But more than that, more than all of that, her eyes are older - speaking to a wisdom, of life experience his Rose hasn't yet been a part of. 

He doesn't know whether to step out and confront them or to freeze and pray they pass by or to press the buttons that will take him somewhere else. In the end the approaching couple takes the decision away from him.

"Hullo Theta!" Her voice washes over him like a cool wind, like warm Spring rain and since when has he ever thought in metaphors.

He can't help the step backwards, visions of paradoxes dancing in his head.

"Told you he wouldn't take it well," his other self says with a derisive snort.

But then she does something he hadn't expected, wasn't prepared for - she reaches out and touches him, fingers not quite brushing his temple and his mind is filled with a whirl of sound that nearly bowls him over. 

"It's okay," she whispers, in his mind or out loud he can't tell, "no paradoxes here."

He steps backwards, away from her, away from them. It's too much, too loud and he can't concentrate. His eyes shift from one to the other, seeing what looks suspiciously like love from her, amusement from him.

"Forgot how broken you were," she says, addressing him but elbowing the other him.

"You made me better," the other him says and it's that naked vulnerability that snaps him out of it.

"You can't be here," he says, taking another step backwards.

"Whoa there," she says, shaking her head but not trying to touch him again. "This has already happened so it can happen again. Timelines are a bit confusing after all."

"The Time War messed them up," the other him picks up the explanation. "Turns out it was us holding time travel horizontal. After that, well, you can go horizontal, circularly, upside-down, backwards, forwards."

"You're rambling." He doesn't know why he chooses that to say in response, but his mind is working so hard on processing all of this that he can't exactly be blamed.

He is shocked when they both break out laughing, clutching each other in their mirth.

"She makes us better," the other him says when he's caught his breath. "It's the truth. But you've got to go stop her."

"How?" It somehow feels like words are being pulled from him that he has no control of and he eases his fingers into his jacket to grab the sonic screwdriver to scan the area. Something else is affecting this conversation.

"Ask me again," she says simply.

"It isn't that..."

"Simple?" the other him interrupts. "It is though. Go back and ask her again. I promise you won't regret it."

The other Time Lord chuckles at a inner joke and tugs his Rose closer to his side. 

Theta glares at them, well at him, he couldn't glare at her - not when he wants nothing more than to pull her to him and beg her to touch him again, to open his mind to another sound. Though now that he is concentrating, the low hum is back. He opens his eyes to ask more questions, but they both shake their heads.

"We can't tell you anything else, timelines and all that." The other him waves his hand expansively.

Rose steps forward, into his space and, almost without warning - but at the same time he knew what was going to happen - presses her lips to his. It seems to go on forever; it lasts for eternity and half a second all at once and when she pulls back he has even more questions, but they are smiling and waving goodbye, already turning away. 

"I'll see you soon, Theta!" she says, tugging the other him back down the street in the direction from which they came.

He watches them disappear around a corner and he is tempted to follow them, but he knows that this would invite the very paradox he is so afraid of and so he doesn't. Instead he stays where he is and catalogs everything he has just seen and felt and experienced. 

Already the silence is back and it's so deafening as to be painful. He has a decision to make and for once in his life he doesn't have to think twice before he is pushing buttons on his wrist and moments later he is standing on a boat in the afternoon sun, staring down at a shocked Rose and roundly ignoring the astonished shouts of everyone else. 

"Did I mention we can go anywhere?" he asks, a teasing smile he didn't even know he remembered how to make on his face.

And he knows, knows before she grabs his hand, before the sound rushes back into his mind, before his fingers are finding the buttons on his wrist again, before the harbor fades from view - he knows what the answer is.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a rather long chapter to make up for some of the shorter ones we've had...

Rose quickly discovered that the sensation of traveling through space was no less painful or disorienting the second time around. This time it seemed to go on forever, she presumed it was because they were traveling further and when she felt solid ground under her feet and opened her eyes she discovered her assumption was correct.

The sights and sounds and colors were overwhelming and she reached out her hand for Theta's, sliding her fingers through his and sighing in relief as the now-familiar hum of contact filled her. Slowly the mass of confusion sorted themselves into signs, buildings, vendor carts, people, and aliens. She opened her eyes wide trying to take it all in at once.

"We are in, if I am not mistaken," Theta said, low and close to her ear, "Londyn, New Earth on Market Day!"

Rose started to ask why he would think he was mistaken -- that was certainly not in his modus operandi, but her attention was again arrested by the humanity before her. 

"Can we go explore?" she asked even as she strained forward to get a better glimpse.

In answer he chuckled deep in his chest - the sound felt as if it was vibrating through her, and led her forward, further into the marketplace. The sounds and colors seemed to explode and Rose turned her head carefully from side to side in order to take it all in. Vendors, some human, some not, were shouting their wares, women were hurrying through carrying large baskets or babies or both, men were standing around looking important and talking in low tones, children were darting through legs and generally making a nuisance of themselves. 

Humans and aliens rubbed shoulders as they moved through the market and Rose worked to keep her expression as close to neutral as she could. Oh, she had seen the occasional alien as a traveler passing through Powell but the village was so far south that most off-worlders didn't bother with it. Here there were so many, some with tails, others with green skin or polka-dotted, many with fur or unusual ears or horns. 

Theta maintained a steady stream of description as they walked, low enough not to be heard by others. "Those are from The New Americas! See the horns?" "Those gentleman with the whiskers: Sea Creatures from Dolphi." "Oooh look, a Mantis! Not everyday you get to see someone from there. Very high-ranking."

It was the sheer amount of technology that surprised her the most though. She had known that Powell was very different in its refusal to embrace the 4th Century, but seeing the shiny marquees, the devices held in everyone's hands, the cameras that pointed at every street corner, the music that played over the loudspeakers - Rose realized how behind the village really was.

Rose was sure she could walk for hours just observing the crowds, but that was before Theta steered them towards a vendor and she saw the beautiful silks and scarves. Beyond that another cart sold little pastries and further down there was one covered in nuts and bolts she saw Theta eyeing wistfully. They wandered for some time, occasionally stopping to admire something closer; once or twice Theta held out a plastic chip and received some bit or bob in return. Usually it was tech of some sort, but twice Rose exclaimed so much over a shiny object that he bought it for her.

How much time passed, Rose never really knew. It was such fun to wander the marketplace, to hear the languages that filled the air, feast her eyes on the interesting sights and the brightly colored merchandise, smell the cooking food. It was the smell that reminded her she hadn't eaten since the oatmeal that morning in the cabin (had it really been just a few hours since she had sat in the cabin and listened to Theta talk about his sonic screwdriver - it seemed a different lifetime). 

They found a little cart called Malo Lupo Cafe that sold a variety of food and Rose picked out something that looked edible, but was distinctly not meat; she wasn't sure she could handle eating whatever meat was sold out here. There were tables in the shade that looked inviting and they sank into them with a sigh of relief.

They were both quiet while they tucked into their food, which Rose found surprisingly good and it wasn't until they had empty containers in front of them that Theta spoke.

"They sell vortex manipulators here."

There was something in his tone that made her look up, searching his eyes. 

"Not easy to get, I take it?" she asked.

"No, not strictly legal to own one." He leaned back in his chair and gestured down the street with a nod of his head.

She followed the movement and felt a lurch in her stomach as she spotted the black and silver uniforms of Torchwood officials. 

"Is it safe?"

"For who? Us? Yes, they don't know us or where you're from." Theta reached over and clumsily patted her hand. 

"I meant," Rose stopped. She didn't know what she meant. 

"They don't have full control of the government yet," Theta explained as if Rose had voiced her confusion. "Probably soon, but not yet. Right now they are just mercenaries that the government uses as pawns. They are gaining in popularity though."

"By whom?" Rose asked, shuddering again as she looked at their gleaming uniforms. "Who wants them around?"

"Mostly Londyners. The richest who think they'll bring about the Revolution they want. To squash the little people and restore balance the New Earth."

"Restore what balance?"

"The balance of the richest on top," Theta snorted indelicately. "It's not what you'd call strictly speaking balance, but don't mention that to them."

"What are their chances of taking over?"

"Pretty high, I'd say. About the same chances that anyone with the wealthiest of the wealthy paying their way have."

"Which is to say, pretty high," Rose agreed.

At this point the Torchwood officials were even with them and though she was certain she imagined it, it almost felt like their eyes rested on them for longer than was necessary. Even after they passed by, Rose felt cold, as if a shadow had fallen over the day.

"What were you saying about retrieving tech?"

Theta leaned back in his chair and she could tell he was surveying the area. "It's dangerous to go there. I'd suggest you stay here, but..."

"Not a chance," she interrupted and was amused when he laughed.

"Didn't figure you would." He shoved his chair back and stood up. "Right then, come on. We'll have to move quickly."

He grabbed her hand and the two of them began moving at a much faster pace than they had used yet. It didn't take very many streets for Rose to realize that the economy in this area of the city was significantly lower than than the main market and a few more had her biting her lip against fear. There was a smell of sewage in the air and painted signs scrawled into buildings with messages like "Death to the Revolution!" and "Renegades Rising!"

She wanted to ask about the Renegades, but didn't have the breath to waste nor did she want to break the silence. For it really was silent, but a wretched silence like the people who lived here didn't have the extra energy to waste on words. Theta was scanning the area with his eyes, but he also had the sonic screwdriver out and was discreetly using it to scan as well.

About halfway down the third street - and there the smell of sewage was particularly strong - he stopped.

"Here," he murmured, kneeling down and aiming the screwdriver at a metal plate in the ground.

A few moments of muttering and pressing buttons and one loud crackle that had Rose jumping and scrutinizing the shadows, and the plate was off, showing a ladder that led into darkness. Theta stood up and took her hand, pulling her closer and for a moment they stood, not quite embracing, just standing together and breathing. And then he released her, gave her a manic smile, and disappeared into the hole and down the ladder.

Rose took a few deep breaths, which she instantly regretted, and sat down on the edge of the pavement. It was nerve-wracking to flip onto her stomach and use her toes to find the ladder. She hadn't taken but two steps down when she heard Theta's disembodied voice. 

"Don't forget the cover!"

Using her elbows for leverage, she was able to drag the cover over the hole until it blotted out the sky. She couldn't quite figure out how to let it land in its slots, but she hoped that would do as she began the slow descent into darkness.

"It's alright," Theta's voice drifted upwards. "I'm still climbing."

Rose wasn't entirely sure if that was reassuring, but she continued to move her arms and legs down the ladder and it didn't take many more seconds before her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Despite the fact that the blackness never let up, she could begin to make out the shapes of the ladder and if she looked down, she could just see the top of Theta's head. Blessing her gift, Rose continued to climb down with an easier mind.

It seemed to take a long time to reach the bottom. When at least she was standing on the gravelly surface, she didn't hesitate before reaching for Theta's hand and linking their fingers. The background hum she had come to associate with contact started immediately and for the first time Rose wondered why. Before she could formulate the question, Theta had one of his own.

"Your gift working down here?" 

"Yeah." 

"Good! We're looking for #397, if I remember correctly."

Rose didn't want to ask what would happen if he didn't remember correctly and she had also suddenly gotten the feeling that they weren't alone down here so she said nothing. They were standing in a sort of three-sided entry way and there was only one path that led straight on from the ladder. As much as she didn't want to, Rose set off down the corridor, careful to keep a tight hold of the Time Lord's hand.

It wasn't too many strides down the passage before a cross path cut through. Glancing down it she could easily see that the left hand ended in a dead end and the other side seemed to drop off. Shaking her head, Rose continued on. Three more times they came to an intersection and Rose rejected them for various reasons, but on the fifth she stopped. Down the right side she could see what looked like firelight.

She gestured down and glanced at Theta. He looked back with a quizzical expression and Rose remembered that though he had many gifts, sight wasn't one of them and the light was far enough away to be invisible to him. 

Standing on her toes, she pressed her lips to his ear. "People down there." 

She felt the shiver that went through his body and whether it was in reaction to her words or her breath, she didn't know. He nodded and tugged her towards the turn-off.

With each step, she felt dread curling through her belly and she slowed further. Theta seemed equally not enthused about whoever they might meet at the end of the passage and didn't rush her. Afterwards she was never entirely sure if time dragged down there or if it was her imagination, but eventually they reached the end of the stone corridor.

The sudden flare of firelight as they rounded the last curve was blinding and Rose had to blink her eyes to adjust them to the harsh light.

There were several figures, tightly wrapped in cloaks standing around and at the sight of the newcomers, they were quick to brandish weapons.

"Ho there!" A loud masculine voice sounded, echoing back up the passage. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Theta!" the Time Lord said brightly, waving one hand. "And this is Rose! Who are you?"

"You find yourself with the honor of addressing members of the Renegades, committed to fighting evil in whatever forms it finds. How did you find yourself down here?" One of the figures had detached itself from the others and advanced towards them. 

"Stumbled across it!" Theta said, still in the same tone. "Heard you might have merchandise for sale I'd be interested in."

There was laughter that rebounded from the roof and made it seem like a horde of people were in the room. 

"Merchandise, eh? And where did you hear that?" Up close the spokesman was fairly rough looking, his cloak faded and dirty. 

Theta's free hand found the back of his neck in an uncharacteristic gesture Rose interpreted as nervousness. "An old friend, Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart." 

There was a sudden silence in the room and then the man spoke again, taking another step forward. "Haven't heard that name in a while, stranger. What do you know of him?"

There was a forced nonchalance from the others and Rose sensed they desperately wanted to know the answer. She wasn't sure what they were looking for, but she also somehow knew that no matter what Theta said it would be wrong.

He seemed to know this too for when he spoke, his voice was strained. "We did business on the planet Foon many years ago."

"Foon was destroyed." The man was so close now, Rose could see his skin was grey and hid beard was scraggly.

"I know," Theta admitted and Rose suddenly knew that it had been a casualty of his war.

"So you'll pardon my curiosity as to what a stranger such as yourself would know of such things." The man stumbled and someone sprang forward to catch his elbow, ignoring the curse at the help. 

"Do you have ID?" 

This was a new voice, feminine and emanating from a dark corner of the room. Rose focused on it for a few seconds and soon saw the occupant was young, surprisingly so, with short hair and authoritative eyes. The man might be the spokesperson, but the power here was with the woman. 

Theta shifted uncomfortably and Rose knew the answer before it came. "I don't."

"Your companion is silent," the woman said, ignoring his response for the moment. "Do you speak for her?"

"I speak for myself," Rose said, surprised at the explosive tone of her voice.

"A woman!" the other woman said with surprise. "Not often we get another down here. How came you to travel with this one?"

"It's a long story," Rose started.

"We have time."

"And not one easily given to strangers," she finished. She noted the distinct change in her speech patterns, but didn't have time to wonder at it for at that moment the man spoke again.

"Enough of this! You don't have ID and we don't have the patience or the time to deal with strangers." He moved forward, this time unaided by the young man. "If you can't provide a good answer, it'll be time in the dark to loosen your tongues."

"What was the question again?" Theta asked, faux cheerfulness coloring each syllable and Rose understood he was trying to buy time.

"How come you to know the name Alistair?" the man asked with ill-disguised impatience.

"I told you, he was an old friend and we did business. He sent me your way many years ago and it is only now that I find myself with the time to enjoy the...pleasure of your company."

"A likely story," the man snorted. "Maybe some time in the dark will set your brain to rights. Adam!"

The young man reemerged from the shadows and stood leering at Theta and Rose.

"Take these intruders to the darkness and leave them to their thoughts." The man turned away, clearly done with them.

"Just a moment," the woman interrupted, standing up and striding towards them, and everyone froze.

"I believe I'll accompany this procession."

"Now Suki," the man began, but she cut him off.

"Enough. I'll be back soon enough; do try to avoid any more break-ins while I'm gone."

Suki turned on her heel and led the way from the room and back up the passage.

The boy - Adam - carried a torch and Rose could see etchings in the stone, numbers and pictures and words. 

"Do you live down here?" she couldn't help asking, intrigued by the carvings.

Suki's laugh echoed backwards and it sounded sad. "We do now. The powers that be have seen to that."

"Are you a part of the Revolution then?" Theta asked.

Rose almost interjected, hadn't they heard them clearly introduce themselves as Renegades - but a gentle pressure on her hand kept her from voicing her thoughts.

"Definitely not," Suki's tone was derisive. "We protect the city from such as try to prey upon it."

"Can't see you doing much down here," Theta observed and then jumped back as Adam swung the torch at his face. 

"We do plenty!" the young man exclaimed. "Things the likes of you wouldn't know about!"

"Hush," Suki said. "The traveler asks a fair question." 

They walked a few more steps in silence and then turned right down the main passage before she began again.

"We are Renegades, working to stop the overthrow of the government. We operate in secret and yes, it may seem like we are hiding away, but as Adam so eagerly informed you, we do plenty above ground. But it's dangerous to permanently live up there and so our headquarters are down here. That's why we must keep you from returning to the surface; you know too much."

"But we won't tell anyone," Rose exclaimed. "We're on your side against the Revolution and against Torchwood."

"I want to believe that," Suki said. "In fact, I do believe you. But him, him I don't believe. His face is oddly familiar to me and, with no identification, I must wait until I can find someone to verify his story."

"I can provide you all the verification you need," Theta said. "Ask me anything - I'm an open book."

Suki paused before an opening in the wall and turned back towards them with a small smile. "This is war, or will be soon enough. I can take no risks when it comes to the safety of my people."

She held out her hand, gesturing into the opening and Rose and Theta walked the few steps that led them inside. Turning back towards the door, they watched as Adam stuck his torch around the corner into a slot in the wall and then pressed a button which started a great grinding noise. 

The last thing they heard before the stone door slammed shut was Suki's voice, "I wish you both luck, truly."

And then the door was shut and they were alone in the semi-darkness.

"Well," Theta said, glancing around them, "This is not what I had in mind for today!"


	15. Chapter 15

The room they found themselves in was twice the length and breadth of Theta, with a hole cut in the floor on the far side from which a vaguely unpleasant smell was emanating. Rose paced the edges of the cell, running her fingers over the scratches carved into the wall which gave her an itchy feeling on the back of her neck. The ground was the same rough gravel as elsewhere in the underground passages and the walls were damp to the touch. Glancing up, Rose could barely distinguish the ceiling far above them and had the distinct impression they were in a vertical tomb. 

Trying to shake off the feeling that Suki wasn't coming back for them anytime soon, Rose turned back to find Theta and discovered he was already seated on the ground by the door, legs stretched out and back fitted snugly against the stone. 

"Getting comfortable there?" she asked, slightly amused by his nonchalance. She had anticipated that he would be the one pacing.

"A bit," he nodded. "I can't say that I love being in jail, but this one isn't bad as far as they go."

She snorted as she walked back over to him. "Been in jail before? You didn't mention you were a wanted criminal before you invited me along."

"Would you have still come?" Very real worry shone in his eyes when he looked up at her.

She took the time to slide down the wall, pressing her arm to his before answering. "I would have, yeah. But you didn't answer my question."

"I have," he said. "More than a few times."

"For what?" She wanted to pick up his hand, but he hadn't reached for hers and for some reason she felt strange about being the one to initiate contact. The humming was still present, but very low and she had to concentrate hard to pick up on it.

He was silent for awhile, staring at the opposite wall, his eyes not focused. The sputtering light from the torch played across his face, leaving shadows in odd places and making his features distorted. She started to wonder if he was going to answer, but she sensed that his silence, for once, wasn't moody, merely contemplative. And eventually he started talking.

"Remember I told you that I left my planet and went off gallivanting before..before the war?" He waited for her nod before continuing, "Well, that period of my life I was a bit of a rebel. I loved to go on adventures and I wasn't always on the right side of the law. My people never took sides and I wanted to be as unlike them as I could and so in those days, I tried to pick sides. I just didn't always choose the right one.

"I found myself behind bars more than a few times throughout the years. Usually for inciting a riot or trying to help with a coup or the like. More often than not though it was for something that I didn't know was illegal on that planet or just didn't care."

"So as far as jails go, how does this one rate?"

He tilted his head to one side. "I'd give this a solid seven. No imminent threat of torture, the smell isn't overpowering, the jailers aren't eavesdropping. But the lighting is horrid, there isn't even a bucket to sit on, and this gravel is digging into my hands."

"Wow, only a seven! I'd give it a nine, at least, but my experience is clearly not as vast as yours."

"Don't worry, we have time to expand your jail experiences!"

Rose smiled. "Are you inviting me to stay with you?"

Theta immediately turned his whole body towards her and picked up both her hands. The hum was back to full volume at once and Rose made startled eye contact with him and found herself unable to look away.

"You can stay with me as long as you like."

"Do you really mean that?" she asked, searching his eyes for reassurance.

"I do." It was as solemn as a vow and she knew he was telling the truth, or as close to the truth as he could.

The hum was reassuring, but Rose knew it was finally time to address it. Before she could open her mouth, she felt him shift and she knew that he knew what she was going to say.

"What's going on, Theta?" she asked instead.

He shifted again, his eyes moving to the wall behind her, the door, the ceiling, before landing back on hers.

"I think you have a natural tendency for telepathy," he explained slowly.

"When you say telepathy..." she paused, trying to remember what she had ever heard on the subject. "Do you mean you're inside my head?"

"Uh." His hands were restless in hers and she could tell he wanted to pull away, but didn't. "Yes."

She stared at him, willing him to explain further.

"I didn't mean to be. Not at first, anyway. But I woke up and you were holding my hand and I could feel you, inside my head..."

"You could feel me?" she interrupted, incredulous. "Like read my thoughts?"

"No!" he hastened to reassure her. "Nothing like that. Just your presence. Like a hum?"

She nodded slowly, she knew all about that hum. "It's kind of comforting," she admitted.

He looked relieved as he nodded. "It had been so long."

"Wait, you lost me."

"Since I felt that. It used to be stronger when there were thousands of Gallifreyans, my people, but even when I was far away I could still feel them." He shuddered before going on. "And then they died. And the hum went out. And it was just silent."

"All at once?" she asked, but immediately she knew the answer.

She could feel the pain, slowly building and then erupting all at once leaving her in agony. She could hear a high-pitched scream she vaguely realized was her own and then the edges of the world went black.

When she came to it took her a while to recognize where she was. Slowly she could make out the features of Theta, his face upside down above her and staring down at her with wild fear in his eyes. She could hear the crackle of the sonic near her ear and with great effort she rolled her eyes.

"Stop scanning me, Theta, I'm fine." Her voice sounded shaky to her own ears and it didn't do much to relieve the panic in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea," his words stumbled across each other in his haste. "You must be more susceptible to the strongest emotions. I didn't know. Should have realized after the other day. Brilliant, me."

"Hush," she muttered, slowly leveraging herself upwards.

His hands were there to help her, of course, and soon she was upright once more, propped against the wall. He stayed seated cross-legged across from her, practically vibrating. Reaching out her hand, she took his and smiled as the hum increased in volume, projecting a feeling of fear into her brain. She could sense that he was fighting the urge to run, that this was starting to become too much for him.

"I'm not mad," she said, tilting her head to maintain eye contact. His expression said he didn't necessarily believe her. "I don't know how to project my feelings, but I promise I'm not mad."

Slowly the fear morphed into disbelief. "You want to project your feelings?"

"Well, yeah! It's not fair that it's all one-sided." She laughed lightly. "You should be able to know what I'm thinking too, especially if we'll be traveling together."

"You still want to travel with me?"

The look on his face was one of such shock and the tone was so breathtakingly hopeful that Rose did the only thing she could think to do. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. He was still under her for a long moment and then he came alive, kissing her back with a bruising determination. One hand found her back and pulled her closer and the other settled on the side of her face, the cool fingers just barely brushing her temple. And then they broke apart, breathing heavily and staring at each other in shock.

"That, that just happened!" Rose was the first to recover her voice.

"Five hundred years of space travel and I've never been kissed like that," he said, staring at her with wonder on his face.

"You're so silly. When you say five hundred years..." she started, watching his expression closely.

"That's my age."

"You're five hundred years old?"

"Yep."

"Wow." Rose leaned back against the wall and raised her eyes to the ceiling. "That is one hell of an age gap."

It was silent for a while. Or it would have been silent except for the hum that was still present at the back of her mind. After awhile when it didn't drop in pitch, Rose sat up straight and stared at him.

"It's not going away." She didn't feel like she needed to elaborate on what she meant by "it."

"Um, nope." One hand went to the back of his neck. "I think we may have started something."

"Started what exactly?" 

"I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know how all these things work."

"What things?" She stressed the first word.

He stood up. For a moment she was afraid, not of him, never of him, but of something else, something awful that would prevent whatever was happening to continue happening. He started pacing, running his hands over the same scratchings she had touched earlier. She understood that he was nervous, confused, and slightly uncomfortable with the "domestics" of what was happening and he needed to do something to ground himself. And so she rested her head on the wall and just watched him move.

It was hard to believe how much had changed about her feelings for him. Initially she had been afraid of him, unsure of who or what he was. After that he had infuriated her (still did, come to that, but in a different way) and she had wanted to throttle him. Then she was comfortable with him, a friend and a partner. And now? Now she wanted him, almost needed him. Needed to be here with him, needed to be in the room, in the vicinity of him. She had missed him like she missed a part of herself on that boat. Such a short amount of time to be so strongly connected to him, but there it was. 

She wanted him too. Watching him prowl about the room with an almost feline grace to his movements, she wanted him. She had felt want before, but this was different. This was a hot want in the pit of her stomach, molten and burning, but willing to wait for him and what he needed also. She knew that might not come. He was, after all, an alien. A five hundred year old alien, a voice reminded her. Five hundred years ago New Earth was inhabited by wildlife and the first explorers from Old Earth, before the latter exploded in revolution and fire and plague and people set off to find places to start over. Five hundred years was ancient. And yet. And yet looking at him right after that kiss it was like looking at a young man, lost and unsure and not a little bit frightened by the possibilities.

He paced for a while and she made herself sit still, keeping her mouth shut, and giving him the space to formulate his own thoughts. Eventually he returned, seating himself again cross-legged in front of her, and reaching out for her hands, which she gave gladly.

"I don't know about bonding," he said as if no time had passed at all.

"I can't say as I do either," she grinned at him, a tongue-touched thing which, given the shudder that passed through his body, did not go unnoticed.

"But I want," he paused and restarted with some difficulty, "I want it with you."

She tilted her head to the side, studying him. "I don't understand, but I want to."

"I am an immortal being," he started to explain and then stopped at her noise of disbelief.

"Sorry, I just," she shrugged. "Every conversation with you just goes absolutely mental. Carry on!"

He gave her a half-apologetic smile. "Time Lords are immortal. We have a certain amount of lives, like a cat? And we can keep coming back again and again until we run out."

"What life are you on?"

"Um, nine." He looked embarrassed. "I told you, bit of a rebel in my youth."

"How many do you get?"

"Thirteen."

"Better be careful then," she smiled, glad that her heart rate was recovering from this latest shock enough to tease him. "Anyway, I think you were going somewhere with that talk of immortality."

"Yeah. I can trade my life, my forever, in exchange for yours."

"You lost me again. In exchange for my what?" she asked. "I'm not immortal."

"I know!" He sounded almost impatient and she considered it a win; he had been acting entirely too unlike himself during this conversation. He shook his head in exasperation and continued, "I could give up my immortality, become mortal. Like you. We would have matching lifespans."

She stared at him in utter shock, robbed of words. Eventually she shook her head and asked the only thing she could think to say. "But why?"

"Because," he said simply, "I need you."

"You need me?" she clarified.

"Yes. I might be immortal, but I know a good thing when I see it and this - you - is the best thing that will ever happen to me. I know it." He did indeed sound like he knew it.

She shook her head, trying to rid it of the confusion. "You sound awfully sure of yourself. How come?"

"I just am," he said. "Someday I promise I'll tell you why and how, but I can't now."

His look pleaded with her to believe him and, after a moment, she realized that she did.

"How does this bonding thing work?" she wanted to know, clinging to a part of the conversation she could sort of wrap her mind around.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I have a good idea," he said. "I also am pretty sure we've already started."

"What?"

"Yeah, the humming that doesn't go away? Even without physical contact?" He waited for her acknowledgement. "That's a side product of being bonded. I think it'll be stronger when it happens for real, but at the beginning stage this is where we are."

"Huh." 

For the moment Rose didn't have anything else to say. It was her turn to jump up and move around, desperately wishing she had more than just this tiny cell in which to pace. In the past fifteen minutes, Theta had managed to turn everything she thought she knew about him upside down but for some reason she wasn't afraid or even freaked out. In fact, she was remarkably okay with everything he was saying. There was a vulnerability in his eyes when he looked at her, nothing that reeked of duplicity - just a simple plea from someone she was beginning to understand was even more broken than she had initially realized. The wounds on his body might have healed overnight, but it was clear that the wounds in his mind would take years. 

She also knew with a certainty that defied logic that if she denied him, he wouldn't push it. She didn't think he would even insist she go home. He would be okay to continue to go on adventures with her and he wouldn't demand or force anything that she wasn't comfortable with. And it was that knowledge that made up her mind.

Returning to where he still sat, she crouched down in front of him and by some instinct, placed her hands on either side of his face, her fingers barely brushing his temple. 

"I'm in." 

"Yeah?" His face lit up with anticipation.

"Yep!"

"Fantastic!" And then he stopped, tilting his head. "First want to get out of here?"

"What?" she asked, taken aback by the sudden change of subject. 

"Suki and that unpleasant gentleman are on their way back and I'd rather not be here when they get back," he explained, nodding his head at the door.

"I'd be good with that," she agreed. "What did you have in mind for the escape route? The sewer?"

"Nope!" He laughed and held up his wrist. "Figured we'd try vortex manipulator!"

"Theta!" she exclaimed, but her words were left in the cell as the world began to spin. 

By the time Suki and her cohorts opened the door, the only thing to be seen was a dying torch in the wall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll notice I did adjust his age for the purposes of my story.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note : the rating for this story has gone up! This chapter is NSFW.

Rose was only partially surprised to feel grass under her feet and open her eyes to see they were standing outside of the mountain cabin. She laughed as she looked at Theta. 

"This the first place you thought of?"

"Seemed like a good idea." He shrugged, glancing around them.

She followed his gaze and her mirth died as she caught sight of the water out in the distance. Even she could not see the flock of boats - the river twisted and turned too much for that - but she knew they were there. A part of her wondered if she should ask Theta to take her to the boat so that she could look out for her mum and Tony and Mickey, but a larger part of her wanted to be where she was. 

As if he could sense her mood, and Rose was beginning to get the idea that he could, Theta walked over and gently put a hand to her shoulder. "They'll be okay."

"Hopefully," she said with a sigh. "There is a lot of trouble out there. Wildlife, marauders, pirates, Torchwood."

"They have protection -- your town don't exactly take trouble lying down," he snorted.

She laughed too and turned to face him, growing serious as she remembered their conversation and what it entailed.

"So what happens now?"

"Whatever you want," he answered.

"Theta," she rolled her eyes.

"I meant it," he said with a smirk. "It's up to you. We can catch our breaths and then go check on the town. We can set the coordinates for Cardyff; I'm sure that's another place to get a second vortex manipulator. Or..." his voice trailed off.

Her heart melted as she stared at him. Listening to his words she knew that her assumptions in the cell had been correct; he wasn't going to push this. She took a step closer so that she was standing right in his space and spoke with her voice barely above a whisper. 

"Or?"

"Or we could bond," he said simply.

Something in her middle tightened at his words. It was this, this willingness to be vulnerable that made her insides liquefy. Sometimes he was angry, yes, but it was a defensive tactic that she couldn't help finding endearing. He needed her and somehow he wasn't afraid to admit it.

She took an impossible step forward, placing her hands on his chest and watching his eyes closed for a moment. "How?"

Instead of answering he lifted both hands in the air and left them hovering there at the side of her face, staring deep into her eyes and waiting for...something. Evidently he saw it because a second later he gently placed his hands on her face, his fingers directly on her temples and the world disappeared.

It was different than traveling through the vortex. There was no painful sensation in her joints, no swirling of noise and color. One moment she was standing in the grassy meadow outside of the cabin and the very next she was standing on a beach with warm sand between her bare toes. 

She opened her eyes wide as she looked down. Instead of her practical traveling outfit of trousers and light jacket she had been wearing only seconds before, she had on a lightweight linen dress and not much else. For a moment she was embarrassed and then she looked at Theta and realized he was also wearing a lightweight tunic and staring about him in shock. 

His attention to the landscape caused her to look around her as well and well she might. They were standing on a long beach that ran down to glistening waves, each swell topped with foam. Behind them stretched high white cliffs that glimmered in the light. The sun was not too hot nor too cold, instead it warmed her without burning and she felt as if she would never be uncomfortable again. 

"Where are we?" she asked at length.

"I think," he paused still glancing around them. "I think we are on Gallifrey?"

"Your world?" she asked. "But you said..."

"It is," he interrupted. "And yet here we are."

"Have you been here? You look like you haven't."

"No, but look." He pointed behind them. "You can see the spires."

She looked where he pointed and sure enough tall spires were rising over the cliffs to their left, shining brightly in the sunshine. 

"Well how is this possible?"

"It's not," he said shortly and then paused as his eyes landed on her face at last. "I don't think it's real; I think it's happening in our heads."

"Like in Harry Potter?" she asked.

He laughed aloud, his voice ringing off the cliffs and dancing away on the wind. "Exactly, Rose Tyler. Exactly like in Harry Potter!"

She laughed because he was laughing and because this place felt like it was meant to be a place for laughing. They laughed until they had to clutch onto one another for balance, until they collapsed on the warm sand. Eventually they regained control and sat facing one another, cross-legged.

"I can tell, sort of," Rose said, holding up an arm. "I can feel my jacket but also the breeze on my bare skin."

Theta reached out two fingers and touched the back of her hand, running it up the skin of her hand, her wrist, her arm, all the way to her shoulder, never taking his eyes off of her. Despite the warmth, Rose shivered and the burning feeling in her stomach stirred to life.

"They told me," he murmured, still gazing deep in her eyes. "I heard it would be like this. But I didn't realize, not really."

Despite his broken words, Rose understood his meaning. This was more real than anything in the real world and she wanted to experience everything she could here with him. She also knew that he didn't know what he was meant to be doing any more than she did, but that nothing they did would be wrong here. It was the most freeing thought she'd ever had and it gave her the courage she needed.

His hand was still settled on her, all his fingers splayed around her shoulder and she was certain she could feel every ridge in his skin. Lifting her left hand, she placed it on his chest, feeling his heart beat irregularly beneath her fingers. 

Tilting her head to one side, she looked at him quizzically. 

"Two hearts," he explained. "Helps with the multiple lives thing and the immortality."

She nodded as if that made sense, which in a way it did. There were more important things to do than discuss the ins and outs of Time Lord biology; she wanted to figure it out first-hand. 

Placing her other hand on his face, she let her fingers explore his brow line, skimming lightly over his nose and his cheeks and his chin before resting delicately on his lips.

Scooting forward so she was on her knees, she leaned into his space. His other hand came to rest on her left shoulder, steadying her as she swayed, a hairsbreadth from him. 

When he whispered "Can I" she felt his breath on her face and she answered by moving the rest of the distance. This time there was no hesitation on his part as his lips moved with hers, parting after a second to give her access. His mouth tasted like coffee and spearmint and time and if someone had asked her to describe what she meant by that she wouldn't have been able to tell them.

His left hand still clutched her shoulder and she could feel his fingers pressing into her skin and she knew those marks would stay. His other hand skimmed the back of her neck, brushing her hair out of the way and holding the base of her neck, his thumb sliding beneath the neckline of her dress. 

After a moment she realized she had her own hands and she made good use of them, settling them both on his chest and sliding them downwards. She could feel the planes of his chest and the tautness of his stomach, the way his muscles jumped under the gentle press of her fingers. Eventually her questing fingers found the end of his shirt and she slid her hands underneath, pressing them against the soft warm skin of his belly. 

He drew in a sharp breath at the feel of her hands and the kiss became more urgent, his tongue moving against hers and breaching her lips. His hands began their own journey, down her arms, her back, and coming to rest on her hips, the tips of his fingers digging into her bum and pulling her ever closer. 

After a moment his hands grew more bold, sliding backwards until both rested firmly on her bum, kneading her cheeks. It was her turn to take a breath and she felt him grin beneath her, pulling back to press his lips to the edge of her lips, her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids, her forehead, and then her temple. 

At that the world seemed to glow brighter and she groaned, feeling a chuckle shake his body. In retaliation she grabbed the edges of the shirt and tugged upwards. He moved with her, allowing her to drag the shirt up and off. At the sight of his body she caught her breath. That bulky jacket and sweater had hid wonders from her. Unable to help herself she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his sternum, using her hands to gently push him backwards until he was lying in the sand with her on top. 

She kissed her way sideways to his nipple, taking it in her mouth and sucking, using her teeth to gently nip before moving over to give the other the same attention. She could hear his breath catch as she let go and moved further down, involving her tongue in open-mouthed kisses that covered his chest, his stomach, paying special attention to his belly button, before scooting down to press a kiss to the trail that disappeared into his drawstring trousers.

His cock pressed upwards and she pressed her lips to it, enjoying the way his hips bucked upwards before she felt his hands on her shoulders, tugging her upwards.

"Rose," his voice was broken. 

Pressing her lips to the tip of him in parting, Rose allowed herself to be moved, promising herself, and him, that she would be back. A chuckle shook them both and she realized she had spoken the words aloud.

"You can be," he promised when she was lying on top of him, their bodies pressed together. "But it's my turn."


	17. Chapter 17

Theta gently guided Rose upwards until they were both sitting upright. 

"I can feel you," he said, lifting his hands towards her face. "And I know you can feel me. But this can be more."

He pressed his hands to her temples and for a second nothing happened. And then the humming changed. Gradually at first and then it became louder and louder until it became singing, the most beautiful singing she had ever heard. Closing her eyes, she let her mind follow the song, the melodies and the pitches, knowing that the song would lead her to where she needed to go. Slowly the singing resolved itself into individual words and then feelings and then thoughts. 

_"Hi."_ His voice sounded different this way, warm like molten lava that poured over her and set every nerve ending on fire.

 _"Hi,"_ she responded breathlessly. Her own voice sounded foreign.

 _"This okay?"_ His voice reverberated with concern and something else, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

 _"Yeah."_ Okay? This was so much more than okay.

His answering chuckle filled every bit of her body. _"I can hear that too."_

_"My thoughts?"_

_"Yeah, try not saying the words. Just think...think..."_

His words trailed off, but she could still hear him. The emotions vibrated and poured over her in waves, filling her with love. Such glorious love, wounded yes, frightened, a little bit, but love that washed through her being, filling her from her toes to the top of her head. In it she sensed his fears of hurting her, or that she didn't want this. In answer she concentrated on the feelings she had for him, desperately projecting them outwards and after a moment it became easier, less like she had to work on it and more like it was flowing naturally out of her. Her want, her need, and yes, her love -- the love she was growing to realize was consuming her in the best kind of fire. A second later and his need and his want, his overpowering, all-consuming want filled her mind.

"Theta," she said, barely aware she was speaking aloud. "I want you."

It appeared to be what he was waiting for because a moment later he was pushing her backwards into the sand. She understood that he was working to control himself, to not overpower her, and she appreciated the effort; she needed it for now.

She heard her dress rip before she felt it and she took the time to focus on the emotions she could still feel pouring out of Theta. His mouth latched onto her left breast, mirroring her actions on him. When he released her with an audible pop, he kept his lips on her, exploring with enthusiasm and she encouraged his wandering touches with little moans and breathy sounds, telling him in an ancient language what she enjoyed. 

This was so far beyond anything she had experienced before and she told him that without words, simply thinking the thoughts and recognizing that he heard her. He wanted to know what she had experienced and she projected the memory of the one time with Jimmy, how it had been hard and fast and disappointing. She sensed his pride that she lost track of their non-verbal conversation because of his mouth working its way ever lower.

He caressed the tops of her thighs and she heard his intake of breath, his breath stuttering outwards across her skin. She knew his want and desire and she thought encouragement at him. When his tongue suddenly touched her center, she let out a whimper, her hips jerking involuntarily. 

She had a hard time staying present with what was happening as he swirled his tongue on her, sucking and lapping at her as if she was a delectable treat he couldn't resist. Then his fingers got involved, spreading her open and using his tongue to lick a stripe of white heat down her center, twirling his tongue around her and unexpectedly sucking hard. 

Her brain shorted out completely at that, the colors flashing behind her eyes and she screamed out her pleasure to the heavens. When she opened her eyes again it was to find his face near hers, his eyes full of the impossible love that was reverberating through her soul. Reaching a hand between their bodies, she trailed her nails down his stomach and dipped beneath his waistband, closing her hand around him and squeezing lightly, tugging downwards as she did so. 

His whole body jerked and he groaned.

"Rose!"

She smirked and did it again, stroking upwards and adding a slight twist on the way down. With her other hand she managed to shove his trousers off his hips, pressing upwards on his shoulders so their bodies turned, settling with her straddling him.

She started to slide down further, wanting to taste him as he had tasted her, but he stopped her with his hands on his hips, shaking his hand.

"I promise," he rasped - whether out loud or in her mind she had no idea, "sometime. Not now. Please, Rose."

She nodded and gave him one last tug before shifting her body so he was positioned at her entrance. Locking her eyes with his, she slid down on him. It took her a moment to get used to the him filling her up, accessing every part of her body and mind. 

"Please! Rose!" 

His voice brought her back to the present and she started to move. It was awkward though; she had no experience in this area, and she knew that her being in control wasn't going to give either of them the release they needed. 

He instantly sensed her frustration and embarrassment and he stilled her with his hands, letting his love sweep over her and reassuring her there was no rush, no right or wrong way to do this. They weren't on a schedule; in fact, he reassured her, this reality was on its own timetable and they legitimately had all the time in the world. 

_"I'm enjoying this,"_ he said in answer to her unspoken fear. _"I am right here with you and I'm not going anywhere. We don't have to do this, if you don't want."_

It was those words that gave her the reassurance she needed and she moved upwards, wincing a bit as he came free. Rolling off of him, she laid next to him, pressing their bodies together and reaching to take his hand. 

Wordlessly she let him know what she wanted and he moved with her prompting, covering her body with his own. He pressed her lips to his, but didn't deepen the kiss, instead simply staying still and letting them both just be for a moment.

She felt the passage of time, the turn of the earth, and she suddenly remembered their conversation from the breakfast table. She understood what he meant about being on the edge about to fall off and she suddenly wanted it so much she couldn't breathe. 

Reaching between them she grasped his shaft and positioned it at her entrance. For a moment he paused, his eyes searching hers and she knew he was asking once again if she was ready, if she really wanted this.

"Yes," she answered him out loud. 

She lifted her hips, welcoming him into her. He set a careful pace, gradually increasing the tempo with each thrust of his hips. At the feel of him inside of her, of the two of them moving together, she could feel tears filling her eyes. There was something so right about this dance, the oldest one in the universe, and she could barely breathe with the beauty of it. He paused his movement, concern etched across his features. She smiled through her tears, opening her mind further and welcoming him in, and his answering relief filled her mind. 

Almost at once she could feel the want increase, hers and his meeting and rising in a growing crescendo. As he moved, noises fell from his lips, matching her own breathy groans and she could feel his control slipping away. Closing her eyes, she focused on finding him with her mind, chasing the song again until he was within her and she was within him.

As the passion rose higher, swirling around them into colors that lit up the sky, she encouraged him to lose that bit of control, to let go completely and join her in this dance. 

_"It'll be okay,"_ she whispered. _"You won't hurt me. I want this. I want you. Here. Now. Together."_

In answer his body upped the momentum, his noises turning into grunts and groans that seemed to shake the very ground beneath them. Together they moved to the tune of the wind, the rising and setting of galaxies, the burning of the sun, and the whirling of the planets as they spun higher and higher. She could feel time moving around them, cradling them to herself and whispering her secrets in their ears. How long this dance went on, she never knew. Sometimes it seemed as if it never ended, as if somewhere in space and time they would always be moving like this, together. At last they reached the peak and everything erupted into a volcano of colors, lights, and melodies that seemed to echo backwards and forward, setting birds to singing and solar systems to dancing.

When she was once more aware of her surroundings, she could hear him murmuring in her mind, low and intense, sentiments of love and need and passion and forever. She welcomed the weight of him, his length still inside of her, filling her so full she couldn't tell where one ended and the other began and she dreaded losing that fullness. 

She felt her eyes closing, her mind drifting into sleep, buoyed on the current of love that had suffused every bit of her, mind, body, and soul. Her last conscious thought was that she never wanted to leave this precise spot with Theta.


	18. Chapter 18

Rose woke up slowly, aching deliciously in places she hadn't even been aware could ache before now. She was dressed in her normal clothes again, a vest top and trousers, tangled a bit uncomfortably in the blanket. Opening her eyes she saw she was back in the cabin and she was alone in the bed in the corner. She was opening her mouth to make a joke about the fact that Theta had finally let her wake up on her own when she became aware of the feelings in the back of her mind which were not her own. Testing them gingerly she recognized them as a low discontent and a sharp fear, neither of which made sense if her recollections of their time in that alternate reality were true. 

Turning her head, she spotted him seated at the table, once again twisting bits of metal and wires. She wanted to know what the matter was, but seeing him took her breath away and she took a moment to just admire him. He was wearing regular clothes again also, but the jacket was left hanging over a nearby chair. Even though she had very recently seen him actually naked, seeing him with the lack of the jacket was still mouth-wateringly delicious. The burgundy sweater stretched amazingly across his shoulders, shoulders that she realized were hunched.

Biting her lip, she kicked free of the covers and padded over to him, resting her hands on his shoulders and leaning down to kiss the top of his head. He smelled like spearmint and time and it made her stomach jump again. As if in answer to her unspoken thoughts, Theta reached up one hand to cover hers. For a moment they stayed where they were and then Rose squeezed his shoulders and moved around him to drop into the other chair.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Is it mum?"

"What?" He looked up, startled.

"That fear you're projecting - is it mum? Has something happened?" Rose realized her voice was trembling.

"No, love." The endearment slipped out so easily that it startled them both and they stared at one another. 

Love was pouring off of him and she let herself be filled with it before realizing this went both ways and she closed her eyes to focus on finding the doorway that would send it back to him. When she opened her eyes it was clear that it had worked. 

"Rose," he whispered, holding out one hand. 

She stood up straight and moved around him, settling herself sideways in his lap so she could look into his eyes. 

"What's wrong?" she repeated.

"It's you," he said and her heart rate stumbled. 

Both her hands gripped the material of his sweater, panic rushing through her veins. This was it, he meant to send her away, she had failed, they hadn't bonded correctly - the thoughts flew through her mind, stumbling on top of each other.

"No, no, no. Rose, look at me?" Theta put one finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. 

Then he leaned forward and covered her lips with his own, allowing his emotion to translate into the movement of his lips against hers. Rose closed her eyes and let herself be lost in the kiss. It was beautiful and painful, the love she felt from him - so powerful and intense she was certain she was going to drown in it and it hurt because he hurt, because he was afraid...afraid of....she didn't know.

She was the one who broke the kiss, pulling backwards because she desperately wanted to understand. Releasing one of her hands from its death-grip on his sweater, she set it on his cheek, her fingers just brushing his temple.

"Help me understand," she whispered. "What are you so afraid of? What happened?"

He took a deep breath and she felt his heartbeats stutter under her. The fear was tinged with panic now and she focused on her own breathing, forcing herself to breathe calmly so he would as well. Whatever it was, they could get through this. 

Leaning forward, Theta wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer so she was cuddled against his chest. "I broke you, Rose," he murmured, his breath blowing across the top of her head.

"I don't feel broken," she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

He snorted indelicately and she felt the edges of her lips rise in triumph. 

"Not like that." His voice was almost normal and she clung to that. "Time Lords were forbidden to bond with humans and now I know why. Can't you feel it?"

One of his hands moved between them, covering her heart.

She thought a moment, trying to determine if she could. "Do I have two hearts now?" she asked at length, certain that wasn't the answer but unable to come up with any other explanation for his odd behavior.

His low growl was probably meant as a warning, but all it did was send a rush of heat to her center and she shifted in his lap, smirking when she felt him respond to her wigglings. 

"Rose," his voice was back to normal. "Stop that."

"Why?" She pulled back slightly to see his face, continuing to move her bum against his crotch. "It seems like you like it."

"I do," he said in a strained tone. "But not right now. Rose!" 

He shifted his hands to her waist and held her still. His eyes were dilated and his breathing was heavier and Rose considered every bit of it a win. 

"Honestly, I like this," she told him. "It's a good way to get you to stop being all serious."

He rolled his eyes, but chuckled a little. "I've created a monster."

Even as he said it, his smile faded.

"Theta, love," Rose said, framing his face with her hands. "Tell me."

"I changed your lifespan."

The words were simple enough, words that up until a day ago she wouldn't have clearly understood, but now did. But even so her mind was having trouble grasping them.

"What?" she managed.

"Your lifespan," he repeated. "It's a lot longer than it should be."

"I'm gonna live longer?"

"Yeah, by a lot. I don't know exactly. But for thousand of years."

"Thousands of years?" For some reason all she could do was repeat his words and she shook her head to remove the cobwebs. "What about yours?"

"What about my what?" It was his turn to look confused.

"Your lifespan? Is it shorter? Did I hurt you?"

His look of confusion morphed into one of tenderness as he stared at her. "Rose Tyler," he said and it sounded like a prayer and a confession all at once. 

The love she could feel pulsing through their shared doorway was overwhelming and Rose leaned forward to kiss him again. She wasn't entirely sure how well she was doing at communicating mentally and she wanted to be sure he was getting her messages of love. 

When they pulled back for air, there was less fear in them both.

"It seems like we met in the middle," he explained as if the conversation hadn't been interrupted. "Your lifespan has grown and mine has diminished."

"So," Rose looked over his shoulder trying to understand this. "So we match now?"

"Yeah, Rose. We match."

There were no words for awhile after that and it wasn't long before Rose shifted so she was straddling him, using her hips to grind against his length. His enthusiasm which had flagged somewhat was back in a hurry and she experimented with her movements, slow and sensual, licking her way up his jaw as she went.

He was quiet at first, only grunting slightly as she moved. This wasn't what she wanted at all so she decided it was time for a change of pace. After all, he had promised.

Sliding off his lap, she dropped to her knees and encouraged him to push the chair back. He was hesitant, protesting that she didn't have to, but she only grinned up at him, making sure her tongue was visible, and his arguments ceased. Getting his jeans and boxers down was tricky and involved her bumping her shoulder against the underside of the table, but at last his length was in front of her, long and engorged and beautiful.

Placing her hands on his thighs she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of his cock before swirling her tongue around the tip. Bit by bit she took him into her mouth, teasing the underside with her tongue, making him wait for it. When at last she felt him at he back of her throat, she released him, taking care to gently scrape her teeth just so. 

He wasn't quiet now, her name was panted out above her along with curses when she took just the tip inside, sucking and licking with an almost obscene devotion. Slowly she lowered her head all the way down once more, relaxing her throat until her lips touched the skin at the base. Only then did she let her hands get involved, squeezing the base of his cock while she sucked on the tip. Using her hand she caressed his balls while she continued her attention to his cock. 

His hands landed on her shoulders as she devoted her full attention to his length. She could feel the desire building and his fingers tightened; she knew that she would have the marks of his need on her and it excited her more. Her center was wet and wanting, but she wanted to finish him like this. Using her hand to massage the base, she licked and sucked at the tip, setting a rhythm with her hand moving one way and her mouth moving the other.

It wasn't long before she heard a louder groan above her. "Rose!"

She could feel him try to pull her backward and knew he was ready to come, but she wanted to taste him and she shook her head, hollowing her cheeks and giving one last tug of her hand. That was all it took and she felt him spurting into her mouth, cursing in a language she couldn't understand. She continued swallowing him down, helping him through until he stopped convulsing beneath her. 

Releasing him with a pop she looked up at him, grinning when she saw his open-mouthed look of wonder and devotion. Before she could move further, he was standing up and moving her with him towards the bed. Lying her down, he paused only to drop his shirt to the floor before crawling over her. 

"Theta," she whispered, when she saw the predatory gleam in his eye. "You don't have to."

"It's my turn now, Rose Tyler," he growled and her hips jumped involuntarily. 

He took his time undressing her, stopping to kiss her skin as it was revealed strip by strip. He spent some time getting to know each of her brests, using his tongue on one while he rolled the other with his fingers and then switching. It wasn't long before she was panting with lust and she wanted him now.

She could feel him in her mind, testing her reaction to each touch and so when he began kissing his way back down her bod she reached out to him there.

_"Please, I need you in me."_

He paused, lifting his head from where it was pressed just above the apex of her thighs. His face shone with happiness at her ability to communicate mentally. She grinned back at him and helped divest herself of her trousers and underwear. 

_"Eventually,"_ he vowed, _"I'll take my time here."_

She chuckled as she reached down to help position him at her entrance, unable to resist give his cock a quick squeeze and grinning at his resulting grunt. She felt her heart swell with love as she looked at him.

"Rose Tyler," he said and she was never certain whether he whispered the words or shouted them, but they reverberated through her entire body. "I love you." And with one motion he sheathed penetrated her completely.

"Theta!" 

As he began to move, she felt his fingers press to her temples and she closed her eyes and joined him there willingly. It wasn't quite like before - she was still aware of the bed and they never left the cabin - but there was a sweet ecstasy in their connection. He didn't need to verbalize that he wasn't going to last and so she didn't need words to tell him she needed him to touch her, to press his finger to her apex and add to the stimulation. 

She felt him shudder a moment before her own pleasure exploded in colors and she could hear her voice joining his and crying the prayers and praises to the ceiling. 

When they had recovered, he slipped from her and then got out of bed to retrieve a cloth from the table which he used to clean them both up. 

"Sex on this plane is a bit messier," he explained, settling back into bed behind her and pulling her back into his arms.

"Time Lords don't have much of a refractory period, huh?" she asked, elbowing his ribs.

"Nope! It's a perk of the species."

"And one I'm happy to take advantage of often," she agreed, moving her bum experimentally against him.

"Uh-uh," he argued, tightening his arms around her slightly. "I'm still 500! I need a bit of a rest."

She laughed and stilled, closing her eyes to enjoy the feel of his body against hers, the sound of his hearts beating in her ear, the feel of his love like a blanket over her. There would be time to worry about the other stuff later.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A disassociation warning with this chapter

Rose thought she was going to drop back to sleep immediately - her earlier nap had been short - and she could soon hear Theta's even breaths. She wasn't certain if he was actually sleeping , she didn't know how much Time Lords slept; she hadn't seen him need any since the hours he had been unconscious and he had certainly indicated that he didn't sleep much - but his breathing indicated he was, at the very least, deeply resting. 

Her own brain, on the other hand, was rushing frantically in circles. Before she let herself get swept away on following though, she forced herself to be still and look for the doorway to him. It didn't take long; she just had to follow the current of love, and when she got there she paused. She didn't want to shut him out completely; that would be cruel, but she didn't need him hearing her thoughts right now either. At length she closed it most of the way, leaving the door cracked just a bit so he would get some information, but not all of it.

Then she leaned back and gave in to the maelstrom in her mind. In the course of just thirty-six hours literally everything in her life had changed. Never again would she wander around Powell arm-in-arm with Gwyneth or climb around the cliffs behind the town to try to glimpse Londyn in the distance. She wouldn't come home to a warm cabin and her mum talking a mile a minute about the crazy things that their neighbors had done. Instead almost everyone she knew were in boats on the river, heading into the unknown.

And what was she doing? She was shagging an alien! Not only was she shagging one, she had properly gone and bonded with him as well. For the rest of her life, which was apparently a good deal longer now. She couldn't even wrap her mind around thousands of years. Everyone she knew would be dead in thousands of years; the entire world could be gone in that amount of time.

What was she meant to do now? Was she supposed to go back and help Jackie and the rest of the town get safely to the new colony? Or was she to simply skip through time and space with Theta? There was a good chance that the Renegades didn't think too highly of them after their escapade and Torchwood certainly didn't either. Where did that leave them? What were their options for the future now? And what future? How long before Theta regretted bonding with her? Before he realized he was shackled with a human, a fragile breakable human who was more likely to be a hindrance than a help.

All of a sudden it got to be too much and she carefully removed Theta's arm and rolled off the bed. She needed fresh air and she needed it now. Stopping only to throw her shirt and pants on, she gained the door of the cabin at a near run, bursting through with a jagged gasp. Breathing hard, she barely made it to the edge of the stream before she collapsed. It took her a moment to realize there were tears running down her cheeks and then she was gasping, choking with sobs as images flashed in her brain.

_She was standing on the edge of a plot of land that she understood was a cemetery. There was fresh dirt piled at her feet and a carved stone placed at the head of the mound. 'Tony Tyler', it read, 'died beloved by many.' She hadn't been to the funeral, hadn't even seen Tony in twenty years, since he'd started asking questions. She hadn't known how to explain it to him, the alien-ness of it, and so she stayed out of the way and now he was gone and she was alone. Alone because Theta had left her ages ago and now she had to face it all alone._

And the image changed.

_She was kneeling on a metal grate, clutching the body of a man who was Theta, but not-Theta. He was gone, it was over - immortality had caught up with him and he hadn't had a contingency plan. Not this time. He had promised to always be there, but then he had gone and...died. The word tasted bitter in her mouth and she leaned her head back and howled her pain to the ceiling._

And the image changed.

_She was standing in a building with stark white walls. There were people with her, but she didn't care. All she could focus on was the overwhelming silence in her mind. Theta was gone. Not dead this time, but gone. They had meant to save the world, but she had gotten lost instead. And now it was over, it was final, they were separated and she didn't think she could take a single step forward, let alone face an eternity in an entire different universe from him._

And the image changed.

_She was sitting on the edge of a cliff. But she wasn't there alone. Theta, this-Theta, was standing a few paces away, staring into the distance. She knew in a stomach-clenching way that it was over between them, that her last mistake was too much for him and he was done with her. When she whispered his name, he turned towards her and the look on his face was not kind. "Rose," he said and the word was desperate, almost angry. "Rose!" again, louder._

"Rose!!"

Her eyes jerked open and she realized that Theta was kneeling by her side, but the sight was not comforting. The Theta from her dream loomed in her mind's eye and she gave a startled yelp and cowered backwards. The pain that flashed across his features was devastating and he dropped his hands from her like he had burned himself, tripping over his feet in his haste to move away from her. 

She felt fresh tears well up as she stared at him, completely unsure how to breach this wall between them. She wanted to touch him, but the images were too fresh, too real and she couldn't bear to face any of those realities. She hunched forward and threw up, retching in the dirt over and over. She hadn't eaten anything since the meal in the marketplace hours before, but it didn't stop her stomach from convulsing.

When at last she collapsed sideways, she blurrily saw Theta crouched nearby, his face a mask of pain. She realized she needed him nearer but was too far gone to be able to figure out how to open the door in her mind to let him in. Summoning the last vestiges of her strength she held out a hand to him and with a wordless moan, he leapt forward.

Scooping her up as effortlessly as if she weighed nothing, Theta cradled her to his chest as they moved back towards the cabin. He was whispering words that she couldn't begin to distinguish, but were clearly meant to soothe. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against his shoulder and let the cadence calm her racing heart.

He kept up the murmuring as he laid her down in bed, scanning her with his sonic screwdriver first to ensure she hadn't picked up anything alien in Londyn. When it came back negative, he moved around the cabin collecting some food. Saying something about water, he opened the door and headed outside. 

The moment the door closed behind him Rose began to shake uncontrollably and couldn't stop - not even when he came back inside. He started talking again as soon as he entered, bringing the bucket and other supplies over to her. Using his arm to help her to sit up, he encouraged her to take a drink and then used the cloth to tenderly wipe her face. Slowly she began to relax again with his ministration and when he had finished, the bucket, cloth, and cup discarded on the floor and himself seated on the bed facing her in their usual cross-legged position, she was feeling a lot more like herself.

"Here," he said, tearing off a bit of bread and handing it to her. "You need to eat."

She accepted the bread and took a small bite. The moment the food touched her tongue she realized how ravenously hungry she was. For a time she ate in silence, finishing the bread and a bit of cheese and dried meat and finishing it off with some slices of dried fruit. When she had finished, she leaned back and studied him through newly clear eyes.

He ostensibly brushed crumbs from his chest, his still naked chest she realized, though he had managed to find time to throw on his jeans - avoiding her gaze. It was easier to look at him without confusing him with the images in her head now that she had eaten and drank, but she could still feel the other realities pressing against her. 

"Theta," she started to speak and then realized she had no idea what to say. 

"Rose," he responded, looking up with a glimmer of his usual smile.

"I got scared," she admitted, finding it easier to stare at her knees than at his face.

"I know. My fault really," he said. "We jumped into this whole thing rather quickly."

"Do you," she paused, bracing herself, "Do you regret it?"

"Rose, love," his voice was gentle. "Can you let me back in?"

She twisted the fabric of her trousers in her fingers. "I don't know," she admitted. 

"Is it because of the dreams?"

"You saw that?" She twisted the fabric harder, wishing she could sink into the bed.

"Yeah," he said gently. "Telepathy, remember?"

She half smiled at his attempt at humor. "It's not that. Or at least, not really. I don't really remember how."

He lifted his hands up, but let them hang in mid-air, obviously unsure as to where the boundaries were. For a long moment she hesitated, knowing that if she let him in there was no coming back. Yes, they were bonded but it was apparently a process and they hadn't quite closed the circuit; he was too far away, the connection was too blurry, even after she wanted to let him back in. But, and this was important - she loved him. Yes, she had only known him for just a few days, but it was the truth. She loved him and she wanted to spend the rest of her - apparently very long - life with him. Lifting her own hand, she guided his to the side of her face.


	20. Chapter 20

This time they were nowhere. Or rather they were anywhere. Everywhere Rose looked was pure white, so bright it almost hurt to look at it. It didn't feel as if they were resting on anything and indeed when she moved her hand, it didn't make contact with anything substantial. 

"Where are we?" she asked, turning back to look at Theta.

"I don't think we are," he said cryptically. 

She sighed, rolling her eyes at him. "We have to be somewhere!"

"No, we don't," he argued. "I think we're in in-between space. It's not a real place - it's that shared space in our brain. Somehow this is the representation of that."

"I really wish one conversation or experience with you wouldn't be absolutely insane," she said with another sigh. 

She wondered about the limits of the place and leaned back and discovered that the substance molded itself so she could rest against it comfortably. She surveyed the Time Lord from her position of comfort and only then realized that neither of them were wearing clothes. 

"Yeah," he said as if she had spoken aloud, which she realized, in a sense she had. "This place is our brain and you have to be nude in your brain."

"See?" she said waving one hand for emphasis. "Absolutely mental!"

He shrugged. "We could go back, but this seemed easier."

His tone of embarrassment cooled her frustration and she nodded. This was easier. Their nudity somehow wasn't distracting here. It was more just the way things were - as if material concerns were gone and they could focus on what needed to be focused on. Which was quite a lot. It didn't seem as if Theta was going to speak first and so she broke the extending silence.

"Are you going to regret us?" It was bold and maybe not the easiest place to start, but she needed to get it out of the way to focus on anything else.

"No." He said it simply, but like there could be no possible other answer. 

"How do you know?" she pushed.

"Time Lord, me," he said and held up a hand when she would have interrupted. "I can see timelines - all the way things could go. Not the way they will, necessarily, but the way they might. I was testing them earlier and I think you must have caught them."

"That was you?" Her eyes widened with horror.

"Yes, but the version you got was incomplete. There was more. I can show you sometime, if you want."

Part of her did want, but the image of that cliff side was still crystal clear and she didn't think she could bear anything that resembled that. 

"Later," she managed. 

He nodded. "The timelines, though, they tell me that every bit of our paths are meant to be together."

"We weren't together in any of them!" she burst out. "You died, Theta, died! Or, or left me!"

"I know, and I'm sorry," he murmured. "I would have shielded you if I could have. You weren't meant to see all that. I saw every timeline, Rose, every single one: the good and the bad. All the versions of how this could be - every iteration in every single universe in the multi-verse. But Rose, there weren't any where this - you and I - didn't happen."

"Because we bonded?"

"Because this is meant to be," he corrected. "Yes, the process has changed you, but you were right earlier; it's finishing now. We left too early last time. It's not really meant to be done with a human. Your brains aren't meant to be a part of this process. Silly little brains, you've got."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Sounds like you're on the verge of calling me a silly ape."

"Ahh," he smiled, but it was a little guilty. "I wouldn't."

"Mmhmm." She shook her head. "Anyway, so I went and fell asleep and so the process got interrupted? But not before it changed our lifespans?"

"Yeah, as far as I can figure. Never done this before, remember?"

"Fat lot of good you are," she teased. "So what now? Do we need to shag again?"

"Well!" He waggled his eyebrows at her. "We could!"

"Theta!" she exclaimed, pressing her hand to her heart dramatically. 

He laughed and she laughed with him, rejoicing for the moment in the silliness that was them and this process that they were both fumbling through. 

"I mean it though," she said when they settled down. "What do we do to finish this?"

"Do you really want to?"

"I do," she nodded. "I'm signing up. But first, I need you to answer my question. Do you really want this with me? To be bonded with a silly human for the rest of eternity?"

"Not eternity," he started and cut off when she glared at him. "But yes, Rose. I want this. I want you. I won't get tired of you, I won't leave you or discard you or run off on you or lose you. If anything splits us up I will rip down the walls of the universes to get to you. I promise you that. It's nearly impossible to separate a bonded couple, once the process is complete. I will always be able to feel you and I would do anything to get you back."

His voice rumbled through her system, warming her from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head and she couldn't help the accompanying shiver. 

"Okay," she said.

"Okay?"

"Yeah."

"Okay!" 

He grinned at her and it was so happy it was hard to recognize him as the same person who had told her about the destruction of his race. Oh yes, those things were still there; there would be hard days and times that one or both of them would become frustrated or angry at the other, but they were truly in this together.

"Your turn," she said.

"My turn for what?"

"To ask me what you want to ask me. The way I figure it I might have fallen asleep before I was meant to, but we haven't discussed this enough, yeah? So this is us, discussing it."

He nodded slowly. "Will you regret it?"

"Did you hear me back there?" she asked. "Thinking about wanting to get out and maybe getting angry? Well, that was my answer. I'm gonna get mad at you. You can be a very infuriating alien, but I'm committed to this, to us."

"I did hear you," he agreed verbally. 

"You really need to teach me to do that."

"It'll come with time and practice," he explained. "I think you are more aware of me than you think you are. You just have to use the connection more and it'll get stronger and easier."

She shrugged one shoulder, unsure if he was right but not disbelieving him. "Any other questions for me?"

"Are you going to want domestics?"

"Like kids and a house?" she asked, eyeing her Time Lord and trying to picture him in a house with curtains. 

"No, like with Jackie and Mickey."

"You lost me. I just said I'm signing up with you." Rose took a deep breath and took his advice about concentrating on him. 

Almost at once she felt his emotions and then a second-layer of communication, not quite words and not quite pictures. Instead she somehow knew that he meant if she was going to want them to go keep house on the boat and later in the new colony.

"No," she confirmed aloud. "I don't want that. I do however, want to know that they got there safely. So there'll be no swanning off before that's taken care of."

He nodded seriously. "That's all the questions from me then."

"Really?"

"Yep!"

There was a long silence then. Rose wasn't convinced he was finished talking and when she tested the non-verbals it seemed to tell her the same thing, but not what it was that he wanted to say. And so she was determined to wait for him. At least it was comfortable here. She stretched out on her back, vaguely wondering if this was what it was like to sleep on clouds.

"Nope, clouds are more damp. And not nearly this solid."

Rose turned to her side and looked up at him. "You're strangely unimaginative for an alien."

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Plenty of imagination, me! I could show you lots of planets where if you use your imagination right you can experience a multitude of wonder. And planets where it's illegal not to!"

"Is that what you want to do then?" she asked him. "Travel?"

"Yes," he said and then stopped. For a moment it looked like he was going to stand up and start pacing and then he relaxed. "This planet is on the verge of a civil war...and it's not going to be very civil."

"You want to get involved?"

"I don't think we're going to have a choice. We kind of got involved when I killed a host of Torchwood officials and then we escaped the Renegades."

"Yeah," she nodded. "I did wonder if that was going to catch up to us."

"It will!" he said rather too cheerily. "But you humans need help. Such a funny lot you are, hard to exterminate by outside forces, but rather intent on doing it yourselves."

"There you go again, with that silly ape tone." 

"Fondly though," he argued. "I'm rather fond of humans. Especially one particular human!"

She laughed and rolled over to her stomach, resting her chin on her hands and looking up at him. "So, back to my earlier question, how do we finish this process?"

"Mmm." He shifted his body until he was lying on his back, his face next to hers. "I can think of only one way. We should maybe test that out."

"Oh?" She shifted closer. "And what would that be?"

"For scientific purposes, of course." His breath ghosted over her lips.

"Oh, of course," she breathed. "Science."

"Rose Tyler," he murmured and then captured her lips with his.


	21. Chapter 21

It was apparent from the look in his eye that Theta meant to take his time. Breaking the kiss, he guided her to roll over and then slid downwards until his face was even with her feet. Looking up with eyes so dark they were almost black, he pressed a kiss to the sole of her foot, licking over the arch as his other hand massaged her other foot. 

She'd never really had a desire for anyone to touch her feet before, but when his lips closed over her toes her whole body convulsed. There was something so erotic about the way he nibbled and sucked on her toes, moving from one foot to the other before moving his way to the top of them and then her ankles. He made sure no area of her skin was left untouched and untasted, using his fingers to stroke the areas his mouth wasn't.

Slowly he worked his way up her legs, occasionally stopping to suck hard on a bit of skin - leaving his mark, claiming her as his own. He paid special attention to the area behind her kneecaps, tuned in to every thump of her heart, every breathy sound that fell from her lips. At long last he reached the place she wanted him the most, but instead of diving right in he kissed his way around it. 

He looked up at her, making sure he held eye contact as he opened his mouth and licked a stripe from her arse to her apex. That one broad stripe almost had her coming right there on the spot and the wicked gleam in his eyes told her he was very well aware of the fact.

She whimpered as he slowly licked her center, sucking on her inner lips, and moaning gutturally. He swirled his tongue around her and then pressed into her, lapping at the liquid he found there. With one finger he exposed her clitoris and he licked a line up to it, twirling his tongue around it several times before pulling the bud into his mouth and sucking hard. She swore long and explicitly and she felt his smile against her thighs, swirling his tongue around her clit and then down to press into her. 

Her fingers scrabbled against the nothingness around them as he increased his efforts, rhythmically moving between her clit and her inner lips, pausing every so often to dip inside of her. Her hips were moving in time to his ministrations when he suddenly inserted a finger into her, twisting it around and stroking her. She couldn't help the noise she made when he added another finger, spreading her open. He curled his fingers inside of her, exploring her inner walls to find her engorged sensitive spot. 

He continued to suck on her clit in time to thrusting his finger into her, his fingers hitting her sweet spot every time. Everything became faster, clearer, more urgent, and then she was opening her mouth and screaming, the noise turning into fireworks far above their heads. 

When she could breathe again, she found him licking his lips inches from her face and she couldn't resist kissing him, tasting herself in his mouth. It was heady and she wanted him inside of her immediately and she knew exactly how she wanted it.

Pushing his shoulder so he rolled to his back, she climbed on top of him, straddling his thighs.

"Are you sure?" he asked, concern for her etching his forehead.

"Yes," she said reaching between them to grasp his cock. "Wait!"

"What," he asked in a strangled voice and she realized she was rhythmically moving her hand down him.

"Can I get pregnant?" she wanted to know.

"No," he panted. "Don't think so. Not compatible. Human and Time Lord. I'll check." 

He reached out to grasp for his sonic screwdriver, but she suddenly didn't care. She wanted him inside of her and she wanted it now.

"Later," she promised and slid down on him.

Every time the feeling of him filling every bit of her, body and mind, was so intense she felt as if she would burst. 

"Rose!" His voice sounded strangled. "Please!"

She nodded, took a breath and began to move. Her thighs tightened around him as she rose up and released as she sank back down. His hands settled on her waist, careful to let her set the pace, but there for support. It took only a few smooth thrusts before she started to lose control, her thrusts growing wilder as she worked for release. She knew that he was closer than she was, her own orgasm still so fresh in her mind, so she moved a hand between them, rubbing her clit to ensure they arrived at the edge together. 

With the force of a storm, her climax hit her, tossing her to the highest peak before plummeting her down, down, down. Vaguely she was aware of his voice, crying out along with hers. 

She felt his mind caressing her, beckoning her, welcoming her further in. It was a siren call she couldn't resist and she flung open the doors of her mind completely, bidding him to enter and join her. She felt the world tip sideways, spinning, hurtling through space, but then she was safe, staying completely still yet suspended in time somewhere far above earth. His love for her washed over her, soaking her in the warmth of a burning sun, and reassuring her that he was entirely, devotedly, completely hers.

When she recollected herself, he had shifted her so that she lay on his chest, her head resting on his shoulder and his hands carding through her hair. Through the general haze she recognized she could feel him completely, not only the heartbeat beating beneath her ear, but beating in her mind. Without having to ask, she knew the process was finally complete. They were bonded.

She lifted her head to say something, but it never happened because there was a yell she didn't recognize and then they were falling.

Rose opened her eyes to find them back in the cabin, lying on top of each other in the bed and the yelling was coming from outside. She looked at Theta to find a look of worry on his face.

"We have to go. Now." 

They sat up in a hurry, hastily trying to find clothes and belongings. The yelling was getting closer now and Rose didn't recognize the voices. She was tempted to go look, but she knew that wasn't the best choice.

"We know you're in there!" The voices were very close, almost to the door. "Open the door and surrender!"

Theta snatched the vortex manipulator off the table and motioned at her pack. She picked it up and grasped his outstretched hand. He punched in the buttons and the room faded from view just as the black and silver uniforms of Torchwood officials broke through the door.

When the world stopped spinning, they were standing in the middle of a field. In the distance, Rose could see a town. It wasn't as big as Londyn, but the houses were close packed and there were more of them than Powell had. 

"Why was Torchwood at the cabin?" she asked, tightening her grasp on his hand.

"No idea!" Theta said.

"Where are we?"

"Not a clue!" He grinned at her and she couldn't help but grin back. "Want to find out?"

She did. She really did. "Yeah."

"Well, then, Rose Tyler, run!"

And they did, together over the field and towards the future, whatever it may bring.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the epilogue of this story and the prologue of the next!

The room was ornately decorated with ostentatiously large furniture trimmed with gold and eye-catching works of art hanging on the walls. It was empty of life except for two men. The first had sandy hair and a smirk that suggested no one was worth his time and whose constant movement had left an obvious track on the oriental rug. The second was taller and solemn and sat as still as one of the statues at the exact center of the long table, only his eyes moving as he tracked the movements of his companion. The staccato tick of the clock on the wall was the only sound for some time aside from the soft swish of the first man's feet as he moved.

At length the door at the far end of the room opened with rather more force than was strictly necessary. The intruder was a young man with jet black hair and a wide grin.

"We did it! The government has fallen! Hartman is dead!"

The first man said nothing for a long moment and then a slow smile spread across his face and it was not pleasant.

"Excellent. Send for the council at once."

The eager young man nodded and backed from the room.

There was a silence again, but it was brief.

"The time has come then." The man's voice matched his smile. "You'll take over Satellite Five. I assume you can handle that?"

The last bit was snide, but the other man's expression never changed and his tone was smooth as he responded simply, "Yes."

"I see no reason why you shouldn't leave at once."

The other man stood up, moving toward the exit at once. He was stopped by the contemptuous voice behind him at the door.

"And if it falls - you know what the consequence for disappointing me is."

"I do," came the quick answer. "Satellite Five will stay on the right side. I guarantee it."

Without waiting for a response he was gone with a flash of navy trench coat.

"We'll see," the man had time to say before the door opened once more to admit a group of people.

Their expressions ranged from exultation to fear, and one last look at the man standing at the head of the table, his face thrown back in a caricature of glee was the only explanation needed.

\----

This room was as different from the other as is possible. It was dim, the window covered by thick curtains and the table was a collection of various sizes. Its occupants were many and they were not solely human. Everyone was talking at once and the din of conversation was too much for the room. Most people sounded frightened or angry, but the reason was less clear from a single glance. 

The general conversation was hard to parse apart due to the volume of it and thus it was the edge of the room which must draw our attention. There two people stood close together, heads bent towards one another and speaking in that decibel which meant they could hear one another but no one else could. 

"So it's confirmed then?" the woman spoke first.

Her face was drawn and there was an air about her that suggested it had been an extended time since she had seen a bed, but her eyes were fierce.

"Yes," her male companion answered. "Hartman is dead. The government has fallen."

She sighed, a flash of fear shining for a moment and then gone. 

"This changes things. I'll need to go to Berkshyre at once; that can't be allowed to fall."

"We need you here." His voice was defiant, but his eyes were frightened.

"You don't. The team here is strong and it's dangerous for me to stay. I won't be caged up when I could be strengthening our other bases." She shook her head decisively. "No, I'll be going at once. You'll stay here and communicate via ATMOS daily."

He looked away, lips in a tight line. 

"Zach," her voice was gentler and she waited until he looked back. "You've got this; Mr. Jefferson will act as your second. I'll be a call away and I can come back if you really need me. But you won't."

He nodded slowly, his eyes on hers.

"We'll see each other again, I promise." She smiled into his eyes and then touched the device on her wrist and was gone.

"But when?" Zach said into the empty space and then turned to stare at the mass of people. "And how do I control them without her?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for hanging out with me for the first installment of Renegades & Revolutions! Stay tuned Monday for Chapter One of Season Two: Consequential Decisions!


End file.
